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Princeton University Athletics
Hardiman's OT Goal Gives Women's Lacrosse 8-7 Win over Maryland
April 28, 2004 | Women's Lacrosse
April 28, 2004
Box Score
It was Princeton vs. Maryland, so it's no surprise that it turned out to be a classic. Luckily for the Tigers, seniors Tara Hardiman and Theresa Sherry didn't want their Senior Night at Class of 1952 Stadium to end on a bad note.
Hardiman took a feed from fellow senior Sherry in front of the net with 17.8 seconds left in the second part of overtime and scored past Maryland goalie Kirah Miles, giving the top-ranked Tigers an 8-7 victory over the No. 4 Terps in the game of the year so far in women's college lacrosse.
Sherry's pass came from outside the 12-meter mark and found Hardiman, who turned a fired a high shot into the net. Maryland gained possession of the ensuing draw control, but the Princeton defense stripped the ball and then ran out the final seconds. "It's a great way to end a game, especially on Senior Night," said Hardiman, who also had a goal earlier in the second half that gave Princeton a 5-3 lead.
"We never really got in a good flow offensively," said Princeton head coach Chris Sailer, "but we did a real nice job defensively throughout the game. We were able to hold them to seven goals and we made a big play when we needed it."
The win, Princeton's 24th straight, left Princeton (15-0) one win away from a perfect regular season, one that the Tigers can earn with a win at Brown Saturday afternoon. But the Terps (12-4) didn't make it easy for the Tigers, coming back from a 7-4 second-half deficit and surviving two late Princeton scoring attempts at the end of regulation.
The Terps stayed in the game due mostly to the efforts of sophomore attacker Delia Cox, who tied a career high with six goals, in fact the first six goals that Maryland scored in the game. After Princeton took a 7-4 lead with just over 10 minutes left, Cox scored twice in a two-minute span to pull Maryland within 7-6. The Terps then finally got a goal from someone other than Cox, freshman Brooke Richards, who tied the game at 7-7 with six minutes left.
Princeton would get the final chances in regulation after a Maryland turnover, but Miles came up big for Maryland in the final minute. Sherry had the final chance for Princeton on a free-position shot with seven seconds left, but her shot was blocked and time expired during the ensuing fight for the loose ball.
Princeton's Sarah Kolodner had the only save in either overtime period, as both teams used long possessions in an attempt to get final shots.
Maryland scored first, on a Cox goal four minutes in, but the Tigers then scored three goals after that in a three-minute span to take a 3-1 lead midway through the half. The Tigers had a 4-2 lead at halftime after Sherry's goal with just over five minutes left in the half.
Princeton then led 6-3 after Lindsey Biles' goal midway through the second half and 7-4 after Jamie Sundheim's high bouncer eluded Miles with 10 minutes left.
Maryland won eight of the 12 draw controls in the second half and overtime, but Princeton outshot the Terps 29-25 for the game.