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Princeton University Athletics
No. 1 Princeton Ready For Lafayette
March 04, 2003 | Women's Lacrosse
March 4, 2003
Princeton, N.J. - Nine months after winning the NCAA Championship, the Princeton women's lacrosse team will take to the turf once again when it hosts Lafayette this Wednesday night at Class of 1952 Stadium. The Tigers open the season looking to extend the nation's longest winning streak to 20 games while Head Coach Chris Sailer looks for her 200th career victory.
The Tigers have won each of their last seven meetings against Lafayette, including last season's 18-7 victory at Class of 1952 Stadium. Lindsey Biles, who led the Tigers in scoring that night, scored her first four career goals in the win.
Lafayette enters this season's contest with a 0-1 record after falling to James Madison last Saturday. Princeton holds a 13-7-1 all-time advantage on the Leopards, who finished last season as Patriot League champions with a 5-1 conference mark and a 13-7 overall record. All-Americas Rachael Becker and Theresa Sherry return to a Princeton squad that finished 19-1 last season. The Tigers welcome back eight starters in all, including sophomore goalkeeper Sarah Kolodner, the only Princeton goalkeeper ever to start her career with an 18-0 record.
Seniors Sarah Small, Whitney Miller and Becker will captain the 2003 Tigers, who are ranked No.1 in the IWLCA Preseason Poll. Princeton has 189 points and four first-place votes to edge out Duke, which is ranked No. 2 with 187 team points. The Tigers finished No. 1 in last season's polls and held the top spot for five straight weeks, longer than anyone else in the nation.
In fact, Sailer's teams have been ranked in the nation's Top-10 each of the last 16 seasons. More than that, the Tigers have held the No. 1 spot in the rankings during parts of 1989, 1992, 1994, 1995, 2002 and now 2003 seasons. Sailer enters Wednesday night's game with a 199-68 career record and a 13-3 record in season openers.
The Tigers are 16-14 all-time in season openers and 17-13 in home openers. The only other time Princeton won a national title (1994), its following season's home opener was against Lafayette. The Tigers won that game 15-1 and started the year 5-0.
Wednesday night's game is the first of eight games this season slated for an evening start. The Tigers played five games under the lights last season and went 5-0 in those contests.
Princeton and Lafayette are scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. draw.
Princeton Lafayette Game Notes in PDF Format
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