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Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Loyola
No. 2 Tigers Dominate Second Half, Defeat No. 11 Loyola 15-11 in Women's Lacrosse
March 13, 2005 | Women's Lacrosse
March 13, 2005
Box Score
The past few women's lacrosse games between Princeton and Loyola have been defense-dominated affairs where a two-goal spurt might have qualified as a big run. Sunday's game between the Tigers and Greyhounds was anything but a defensive affair, but Princeton will take it just the same.
The Tigers' 15-11 victory over Loyola on a windy day at Class of 1952 Stadium came mostly as a result of two things: the first, a 6-0 Princeton run midway through the half, one that turned a 9-8 deficit into an insurmountable 14-9 lead, and the second, a career-best six goals from senior Lindsey Biles, including the final two goals in that decisive 6-0 run.
"I hope that's not something that just happens once this season," said Princeton head coach Chris Sailer when asked about Biles' six-goal performance. "I think we all realize that she's going to need to have those kind of games for us to be successful this year." Loyola (2-3) took a 9-8 lead 3:25 into the second half on Kate McHarg's second goal, but both the offense and defense of Princeton (2-0) then took over in the next 20 minutes. The Tigers took the lead for good with two goals in a 16-second span around the 24-minute mark, from Ingrid Goldberg and freshman Courtney Bird, and Goldberg then scored a minute later to give Princeton an 11-9 lead.
Sophomore Mary Minshall would give the Tigers a three-goal lead with 16:48 left on a free-position shot, and Biles then scored twice in a 1:07 span a few minutes later to put Princeton ahead 14-9. McHarg's third goal of the game, with 8:17 left, finally broke an 18-minute Loyola scoring drought.
"We felt like opportunities were there the whole game and we did a great job of taking advantage of them in the second half," said Biles, who has 10 goals in two games this year. "Our defense did a great job in the second half to help us win."
Almost everyone was having success scoring goals early in the game, one in which the game was tied 8-8 at halftime. The teams combined for those 16 first-half goals on just 26 first-half shots, with Loyola connecting on eight of its 11 shots.
The Greyhounds were the first team to break away in the game, scoring four times in a three-minute span early to take an early 4-1 lead, but the Tigers would score three of the next four goals, including a third goal from Biles with 16 minutes left in the half that pulled Princeton within 5-4. Loyola went back ahead 7-5 on Maura Kenny's goal with 11 minutes left in the half, but Princeton then struck three times in three minutes, the final one Biles' fourth goal of the half that gave the Tigers an 8-7 lead.
Princeton outshot Loyola 29-19 and also got an unexpected contribution from sophomore goalie Colleen O'Boyle, who replaced starter Sarah Kolodner early in the second half. The Tigers led 10-9 when O'Boyle was immediately tested with 23 minutes left in the half, but the sophomore stopped a Loyola shot and ran down the groundball to give her team possession.
Sydney Greene scored all four of her goals in the first half for Loyola, which lost its third straight game to Princeton and its third game this season to a team ranked in the top 10. All 11 of Loyola's goals were unassisted.
Goldberg had three goals for Princeton, while Elizabeth Pillion had two goals and a game-high three assists for the Tigers.
Princeton, which could be the No. 1 team in the country in tomorrow's poll after Virginia's loss to Penn State Friday, plays at No. 4 Duke Wednesday afternoon.