Princeton University
Maryland
Undaunted Tigers Thrive In Win Over Maryland
April 24, 2002 | Women's Lacrosse
April 24, 2002
Princeton, N.J. - Senior co-captains Lauren Simone and Charlotte Kenworthy combined for six goals in their final home appearance as Princeton Tigers to lead a composed Orange and Black squad to victory over the defending national champions. Tiger seniors scored nine goals on senior night at Class of 1952 Stadium to guide Princeton past Maryland 13-9.
Maryland would give Princeton its biggest challenge since opening day, scoring five times in the opening 20 minutes, building a 5-0 lead on the No. 1 Tigers. Courtney Hobbs and Sonia Judd scored two goals apiece and Princeton faced its largest deficit of the season.
Freshman Elizabeth Pillion ended the offensive drought for Princeton with a free position goal at 20:08 and the Tigers were on the scoreboard, down 5-1. It wouldn't take long for Princeton to score its second, third and fourth goals of the night with Senior Kim Smith, Kenworthy and sophomore Theresa Sherry all finding the back of the net to put the Tigers down 5-4 at the 24:03 mark. Maryland, the seven-time defending national champion, answered with a goal of its own at 25:45 to push the lead back up to two goals. Simone took charge with an unassisted goal to bring Princeton within one and then assisted Sherry on her second goal of the night to even the game at 6-6.
Maryland controlled the ensuing draw control, but senior Brooke Owens took a charge to give the Tigers possession and the last shot before the half. Smith drew a foul and knocked in her free position shot to give the Tigers their first lead of the game with 14 seconds left in the first half of play. Momentum was on Princeton's side as it went into the locker room with a 7-6 lead.
"I wasn't at all worried when Maryland went up 3-0," says Princeton head coach Chris Sailer. "But when they had us down 5-0, I knew that we had our work cut out for us. They're a very tough team and they played like the defending national champions tonight."
Like Princeton in the first half, Maryland showed its resilience in the second. Acacia Walker gave the Tersp instant offense with back-to-back goals to put Maryland up 8-7. Kenworthy connected on her second goal of the night to tie the score at 8-8, but Judd gave Maryland the lead right back with her goal at 40:12.
Poised as ever, Kenworthy would tie the score again, this time with an assist from fellow captain Simone. The Tigers and Terps were tied for the for the fourth time on the night with only 10 minutes left to play in regulation.
"Maryland had our backs to the wall for most of the game," says Sailer. "We had a lot of players step up for us and the reason we won was because of our big plays."
With the game tied at 9-9, junior Alex Fiore snared a deflection off goalie Maryland Alex Venchanos and knocked in the go-ahead goal at 52:50. Simone added insurance goals with back-to-back scores at 56:43 and 57:01 to give the Tigers their biggest lead of the night at 12-9. Senior Mimi Hammerberg put the game away with her goal at 58:37 and the Tigers snapped Maryland's 11-game win streak against Princeton.
"This was big test for us," says Owens. "Are we the No. 1 team? That is yet to be determined, but a win like this goes a long way for our confidence."
Simone and Kenworthy each finished the game with three goals while Sherry and Smith scored two goals apiece. Fiore, Hammerberg and Pillion all scored one goal and freshman Sarah Kolodner finished with nine saves in goal. Venchanos registered a career-high 14 saves for the Terrapins, who fall to 9-8 on the year.
Princeton ties its longest winning streak in program history at 14 games and runs its record to 14-1. The Tigers dominated the end of each half, outscoring the eight-ranked Terrapins 11-1 in the last ten minutes of each half combined. The game stats were fairly even with Princeton winning ground balls 33-32 while committing 15 turnovers to Maryland's 17.
"We knew Maryland would be tough," says Simone. "Our team won with everyone contributing and everyone playing well. It's great to finally beat this team."
The Tigers wrap up the regular season at Brown this Saturday at 4 p.m. Princeton is 6-0 in the Ivy League and would clinch the outright league championship with a win over the Bears. Princeton's last outright conference title came in 1996.
Saturday's game can be heard live on www.GoPrincetonTigers.com. Tonight's game can be seen in its entirety this Saturday on CN8 at 1 p.m.
Princeton 13 Maryland 9Princeton Scoring (goals-assists) Lauren Simone 3-3, Charlotte Kenworthy 3-0, Kim Smith 2-2, Theresa Sherry 2-0, Alex Fiore 1-0, Mimi Hammerberg 1-0, Elizabeth Pillion 1-0
1 2 Final Princeton (14-1) 7 6 13 Maryland (9-8) 6 3 9
Maryland Scoring (goals-assists) Sonia Judd 3-1, Courtney Hobbs 2-1, Acacia Walker 2-1, Annie Collins 2-0, Kristie Leggio 0-2, Meredith Egan 0-1
Goalies Princeton - Sarah Kolodner 60 minutes, 9 goals-against, 9 savesMaryland - Alexis Venachanos 60 minutes, 13 goals-against, 14 saves
Team Time Goal Assist Score Mary :45 Courtney Hobbs unassisted Mary, 1-0 Mary 5:46 Sonia Judd Acacia Walker Mary, 2-0 Mary 7:46 Courtney Hobbs Sonia Judd Mary, 3-0 Mary 13:15 Annie Collins unassisted Mary, 4-0 Mary 18:17 Sonia Judd Kristie Leggio Mary, 5-0 Prin 20:08 Elizabeth Pillion FP Mary, 5-1 Prin 21:11 Kim Smith Lauren Simone Mary, 5-2 Prin 23:12 Charlotte Kenworthy unassisted Mary, 5-3 Prin 24:03 Theresa Sherry FP Mary, 5-4 Mary 25:45 Annie Collins unassisted Mary, 6-4 Prin 25:58 Lauren Simone unassisted Mary, 6-5 Prin 27:54 Theresa Sherry Lauren Simone Tied, 6-6 Prin 29:46 Kim Smith unassisted Prin, 7-6 Mary 33:18 Acacia Walker Courtney Hobbs Tied, 7-7 Mary 38:43 Acacia Walker Meredith Egan Mary, 8-7 Prin 39:49 Charlotte Kenworthy Kim Smith Tied, 8-8 Mary 40:12 Sonia Judd Kristie Leggio Mary, 9-8 Prin 48:46 Charlotte Kenworthy Lauren Simone Tied, 9-9 Prin 52:50 Alex Fiore unassisted Prin, 10-9 Prin 56:43 Lauren Simone unassisted Prin, 11-9 Prin 57:01 Lauren Simone unassisted Prin, 12-9 Prin 58:37 Mimi Hammerberg Kim Smith Prin, 13-9
Shots Princeton - 32 Maryland - 24
Ground Balls Princeton - 33 Maryland - 32
Caused Turnovers Princeton - 10 Maryland - 11
Turnovers Princeton - 15 Maryland - 17
Draw Controls Princeton - 12 Maryland - 12
Fouls Princeton - 14 Maryland - 16