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Princeton University Athletics
Tigers Come From Behind to Defeat Dartmouth in Overtime, 6-5
May 16, 2004 | Women's Lacrosse
May 16, 2004
Box Score
After more than a month of dominating play, the Princeton women's lacrosse team spent the final week of the regular season just finding a way. And the Tigers certainly fell back on that experience when they needed it the most Sunday afternoon in an NCAA quarterfinal game against archrival Dartmouth.
Trailing 4-1 early in the second half and 5-3 with under seven minutes left, the top-seeded Tigers tied the game with two goals in a 48-second span late in regulation and won it in overtime on reserve Jamie Sundheim's third goal of the season, coming from behind for a 6-5 victory over the Big Green before 1,120 at Class of 1952 Stadium.
Sundheim's goal came with 1:36 left in the first overtime period, and Dartmouth would control the opening draw of the second overtime session. The Big Green (11-6) then forced two Princeton turnovers in the final minute of the overtime as the Tigers (18-0) tried to run out the clock, but Dartmouth was unable to get a shot on goal on either of those opportunities. "Nothing about this team really surprises me at this point," said Princeton head coach Chris Sailer, whose Tigers are headed to the fifth straight to the women's lacrosse final four. "We've found a way to win, and we've done it recently with some players who didn't have a lot of experience in tournament games."
Like Sundheim, whose goal was just her third of the season. And freshman Kathleen Miller, who had a goal and the assist on Sundheim's game winner. Miller was awarded a free-position opportunity at the top of the eight-meter arc, but passed the ball to a wide-open Sundheim in front. And maybe the biggest goal of regulation time came from senior Tara Hardiman, who tied the game at 5-5 with 4:32 left after Theresa Sherry had pulled Princeton within one goal 48 seconds earlier.
"Jamie has a great shot and excellent stickwork," said Miller, the Ivy League Rookie of the Year. "It seemed like everyone was expecting me to shoot and they left Jamie open. I knew she would put it the net."
Dartmouth controlled much of the game with outstanding defense and ball control against a Princeton attack that came into the game averaging better than 13 goals per game. The game was scoreless for the first 14 minutes, but the Big Green's Katieanne Christian started a Dartmouth run with her 26th goal of the season at the 16:08 mark. Casey Hazel and Kristen Zimmer then scored in the next six minutes, and the Big Green had a surprising 3-0 lead.
Miller's free-position goal pulled the Tigers within 3-1 at halftime.
"We came in with a totally different game plan than the last time we came down here (a 17-8 Princeton win April 24)," said Dartmouth head coach Amy Patton. "We tried to faceguard Sherry and (Lindsey) Biles (Princeton's leading scorer) and it seemed like it took them a while to figure out some other options."
When Christian scored 3:01 into the second half to give Dartmouth a 4-1 lead, it looked like the Big Green might be headed to its first national semifinal appearance since 1998. But Elizabeth Pillion's free-position shot for Princeton pulled the Tigers within 4-2 1:46 later, and Hardiman then took a pass from Sherry with 10:46 left to make it 4-3. Molly Jenkins' 10th goal of the season with 6:49 left gave Dartmouth a 5-3 lead, but the Big Green wouldn't score again.
"We knew it was going to be tough being down a couple goals in the second half, but we were able to make some big plays to get back into it," said Sailer. "I think we learned from our last couple games of the regular season and it helped us."
Princeton defeated Brown 5-4 on May 1 to finish a perfect regular season after defeating Maryland in overtime, 8-7, April 28.
The win was Princeton's fifth straight over Dartmouth and moves the Tigers into a national semifinal Friday at 6 p.m. against Vanderbilt, an upset 10-4 winner at James Madison in one of Sunday's other quarterfinal games. Georgetown, a winner over Maryland on Sunday, will play Virginia in the other semifinal game beginning at approximately 8:30 p.m.
The win was also Princeton's 27th straight overall dating back to last season. The Tigers are still the only unbeaten team in NCAA Division I women's or men's lacrosse.
"We're obviously excited to be back in the final four, especially playing here at home," said Sailer.