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Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
LeMoyne (NCAA First Round)
Women's Lacrosse Routs LeMoyne In First Round Of NCAA Tournament
May 08, 2003 | Women's Lacrosse
May 8, 2003
Box Score
Princeton, N.J. - LeMoyne drew first blood and led 1-0 early. It was all Princeton after that. The Tigers closed the final 53 minutes with 19 unanswered goals and defeated the Dolphins 19-1 in Thursday's first-round action of the 2003 NCAA championship tournament.
After a scoreless five minutes, Caitlin Lowie's shot trickled off the foot of goalie Sarah Kolodner and the Dolphins led 1-0. Senior Whitney Miller tied things up with her 17th career post-season goal. Sophomores Elizabeth Pillion and Leigh Slonaker scored back-to-back goals and only 1:12 after trailing 1-0, the Tigers were up 3-1. "This team has definitely improved from last season," says Pillion in reference to LeMoyne. "They threw some new things at us and we had to adjust."
Pillion adjusted well, scoring her second goal of the game off Alex Fiore's assist at 12:02. Theresa Sherry notched back-to-back goals with Miller providing the assist on each and Princeton held a commanding 6-1 lead halfway through the period. Two more goals before half made it 8-1 and LeMoyne never threatened again.
"We're playing well at the right time," says Princeton coach Chris Sailer. "We've had some very good practices lately, we're scoring goals and we're hustling."
Freshman Olachi Opara, who had a breakout performance versus Brown in the season finale, scored three goals for the second straight game. Pillion, Sherry and Slonaker all finished with three goals. Katie Yakulis added two while Miller led the team with three assists.
Juniors Mary Beth Hogan and Liza Hillenbrand each scored a goal and an assist while Tara Hardiman and Ingrid Goldberg each added a goal of their own. Princeton outshot the Dolphins 39-5 and picked up 29 ground balls to LeMoyne's 12. The Tigers also caused 13 turnovers. Seniors Rachael Becker and Sarah Small both caused three turnovers and kept LeMoyne away from the cage all day. Kolodner finished with four saves.
The Tigers improve to 13-4 on the year and LeMoyne ends its season with a 12-6 mark. The Tigers also improve to 10-0 all-time in first-round tournament games and advance to the NCAA Quarterfinals to face Ohio State on Sunday, May 11. The Buckeyes defeated Duke 10-7 in Durham today.
"I'm excited to play Ohio State," says Sherry. "We've never played them before and I know they will be prepared like they were today at Duke. We have to play our best game and I think we'll be ready."
Princeton hosts the Buckeys at Class of 1952 Stadium at 2 p.m. Tickets are $4 adult and $2 students