Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Notre Dame
Final Four Bound
May 12, 2002 | Women's Lacrosse
May 12, 2002
Princeton, N.J. - Senior co-captains Charlotte Kenworthy and Lauren Simone teamed up with junior Whitney Miller to score nine goals with six assists as Princeton defeated Notre Dame in an NCAA Quarterfinal contest at Class of 1952 Stadium. The Tigers advance to the Final Four with an 11-5 win over the Irish on a Mother's Day in Princeton, N.J.
Kenworthy, Miller and Simone all finished with three goals and two assists while sophomore Mary Beth Hogan and freshman Lindsey Biles each contributed with a goal of their own. Freshman goalie Sarah Kolodner had an excellent day in goal with five saves, holding Notre Dame scoreless on six free position attempts. Princeton jumped out to an early lead as it has all year. The Tigers went up 2-0 with goals from Kenworthy and Simone in the game's first five minutes. Miller, who assisted on both of those goals, scored off an assist from Kenworthy to make the score 3-0 at 12:44. Kenworthy scored again to give the Tigers a four goal lead before the Irish got on the board with a goal from Danielle Shearer at 18:42.
The Tigers took a 5-1 lead into halftime and quickly extended that to 6-1 with Simone connected off a pass from Kenworthy about a minute into the second period. Notre Dame came back with two unanswered goals and cut the Princeton lead in half with 27 minutes still left in regulation. The Tigers proved to be too strong, however, and with back-to-back goals, they led 8-3.
"When Notre Dame cut the score to 6-3, I think it was key that we were able to score next," says Princeton coach Chris Sailer. "They're a team that I know plays the whole game well and they've come from behind before. They can be very dangerous down the stretch."
Shearer scored her second goal of the game to bring the Irish back within four, but that was as close as Notre Dame would get. Simone scored her third goal of the day at 51:10 and then assisted on Kenworthy's goal at 53:33 to give her 195 career points and sole possession of third place on Princeton's all-time scoring list. Simone moved past Amory Rowe '95, who had 194 points and is back of only Cristi Samaras '99 and Lisa Rebane '96. Samaras notched 270 career points and Rebane recorded 220 points while at Princeton.
Kolodner improved to 16-0 as a starter in goal with help from a Princeton defense that allowed 20 shot attempts while the Tiger offense registered 36 shots. Princeton also extended the nation's longest winning streak to 17 games and set a new school mark for most wins in a season. The Tigers are 17-1 overall and have set school records from most consecutive wins (17), most goals in a season (263) and most points in a season (386).
The Tigers advance to their third straight Final Four and ninth overall as a program. They will face the No. 3 seed, North Carolina. The Tarheels advanced with a 14-13 overtime win over Virginia. Top-seeded Georgetown also advanced as did Ivy League foe Cornell. The Hoyas defeated Duke and the Big Red moved on with a win over defending national champion Maryland.
"It's a wide-open field this year," says Sailer. "I think that every team is going into the Final Four thinking that they can win it. It's exciting to know that there will be a new national champion this year and we'll do our best to make sure it's Princeton."
The 2002 Final Four will be played at Curley Field in Baltimore, Md. Georgetown and Cornell face each in the first game at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, May 17. The Tigers and Tarheels will follow. Princeton's semifinal game can be heard live via Web cast on www.GoPrincetonTigers.com.
Princeton 11 Notre Dame 5Princeton Scoring (goals-assists) Charlotte Kenworthy 3-2, Whitney Miller 3-2, Lauren Simone 3-2, Hogan 1-1, Biles 1-0, Hammerberg 0-1
1 2 Final Princeton (17-1) 5 6 11 Notre Dame (13-5) 1 4 5
Notre Dame Scoring (goals-assists) Lindsey Shearer 2-0, Meredith Simon 2-0, Natalie Loftus 1-1, Eleanor Weille 0-1
Goalies Princeton - Sarah Kolodner 60 minutes, 5 goals-against, 5 saves Notre Dame - Jen White 60 minutes, 11 goals-against, 10 saves
Team Time Goal Assist Score Prin 2:43 Charlotte Kenworthy Whitney Miller Prin, 1-0 Prin 4:53 Lauren Simone Whitney Miller Prin, 2-0 Prin 12:44 Whitney Miller Charlotte Kenworhy Prin, 3-0 Prin 16:54 Charlotte Kenworthy Mimi Hammerberg Prin, 4-0 ND 18:42 Danielle Shearer unasssited Prin, 4-1 Prin 27:26 Whitney Miller unassisted Prin, 5-1 Prin 31:12 Lauren Simone Charlotte Kenworthy Prin, 6-1 ND 31:44 Natalie Loftus Eleanor Weille Prin, 6-2 ND 32:50 Meredith Simon unassisted Prin, 6-3 Prin 43:29 Whitney Miller FP Prin. 7-3 Prin 45:43 Mary Beth Hogan Lauren Simone Prin, 8-3 ND 47:44 Danielle Shearer unassisted Prin, 8-4 Prin 51:10 Lauren Simone unassisted Prin, 9-4 Prin 53:33 Charlotte Kenworthy Lauren Simone Prin, 10-4 ND 59:13 Meredith Simon Natalie Loftus Prin, 10-5 Prin 59:56 Lindsey Biles Mary Beth Hogan Prin, 11-5
Shots Princeton - 36 Notre Dame - 20
Ground Balls Princeton - 26 Notre Dame - 20
Caused Turnovers Princeton - 15 Notre Dame - 6
Turnovers Princeton - 14 Notre Dame - 19
Draw Controls Princeton - 10 Notre Dame - 8
Fouls Princeton - 23 Notre Dame - 22