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Princeton University Athletics
Women's Lacrosse Season Outlook
March 02, 2005 | Women's Lacrosse
March 2, 2005
The Princeton women's lacrosse team sure has been a lot of places the last few years. How about the White House, for instance, twice? Don't forget the final four, in each of the last five seasons. The Tigers even made it to Australia, for nearly two weeks, just this past December.
But as the Tigers get ready for the opening of the 2005 season March 5, Princeton finds itself in another new place, a place it hasn't seen for, amazingly, three years. Not since the winter of 2002 has Princeton entered the season without possession of the previous season's national championship trophy, and no Tiger player this offseason needed any more motivation than that.
"I think last year's championship game was a wake-up call, a reminder for all of us that what you want to happen doesn't always happen," says head coach Chris Sailer. "The lesson to be learned is that you can never take anything for granted and that the only way to get back to where you want to be is by being hungrier and working harder than you have before." There's certainly no reason to cry for the Tigers, however, considering that Sailer's team returns an All-America player on attack, in the midfield and on defense and will be backed up by a three-year starter in goal with a career record of 53-5. From a lacrosse perspective, and from the team chemistry angle, Princeton also has the experience of that Australia trip, one that included three games against that country's national team in addition to all that sightseeing.
"The trip came at the perfect time for us," Sailer says. "It was obviously a fantastic cultural experience and a great bonding time for our team, but it also was a terrific opportunity for us to play against some of the best players in the world. We're probably a little more inexperienced as a team all around this year, so the opportunity to compete at the highest level in Australia can't be underestimated." Here's a look at Princeton's team, by position.
ATTACK Princeton's attack unit begins with Lindsey Biles, a first-team All-America last year and the latest in a line of prolific Tiger goal scorers that began with Cristi Samaras in the mid 1990's and has continued on with the likes of Lauren Simone and Theresa Sherry in recent years.
Biles, certainly a candidate for league Player of the Year honors in 2005, nearly came close to breaking all of their records last season when she finished with 55 goals, just one behind Samaras's school record of 56 set in 1998. With her 16 assists, she also became just the third player in team history to score 70 points. She had three or more goals in 11 of Princeton's 20 games. With a similar season to last year, Biles would finish second all-time in both goals and scoring at Princeton.
Two other seniors who have played more supporting roles throughout their careers will be important attack players for the Tigers this season. Ingrid Goldberg, who started 14 games, had a breakout season in 2004 after playing sparingly her first two years. Goldberg had 15 goals last season, including a season-high three in the come-from-behind win over Georgetown, and those numbers could increase in 2005. Classmate Leigh Slonaker was a starter in 2003, when her 27 goals helped the Tigers win the national championship, and her experience gives Princeton a player capable of a multiple-goal game.
Two highly-touted freshmen, Ashley Amo and Katie Atkins, should also vie for playing time on attack. Amo is a tall attacker who scored nearly 250 points at Ridgewood High School in New Jersey, while Atkins played for the powerful Roland Park program in Baltimore. Each is an excellent feeder and playmaker who can make teammates better.
Sophomore Mary Minshall, who scored seven goals and had four assists in limited action as a freshman, should also be a key player on the attack line. Junior Jamie Sundheim scored nine points last year, including the overtime game winner against Dartmouth in the NCAA tournament, but will be limited in 2005 by an ACL injury suffered in the offseason. Classmate Olachi Opara is a player with outstanding potential who simply needs to be healthy to make an impact.
MIDFIELD Elizabeth Pillion, who spent the fall helping the Princeton women's soccer team reach the NCAA College Cup, should spend the spring as the lacrosse team's most dynamic player. Pillion, who had 34 goals and 17 assists a year ago, is also a groundball machine and one of the fastest transition players in the country. A clear candidate, along with Biles, for the Tewaaraton Trophy honoring the nation's top player, Pillion also led the Tigers in draw controls a year ago.
Pillion has chance to be the league's Player of the Year. Kathleen Miller, now a sophomore, was the league's Rookie of the Year after a terrific freshman season. One of the more skilled players in the nation with the ball in her stick, Miller finished fourth on the team in 2004 with 32 goals and 45 points.
Like Miller last year, Sailer expects a great deal in 2005 from freshman Katie Lewis-Lamonica, a local product from the Lawrenceville School. A terrific transition player who is adept on offense and defense, Lewis-Lamonica was a two-time All-America who scored 74 goals for a state champion last year.
Sophomore Caitlin Reimers was as good as advertised as a freshman, starting all 20 games as a defensive-minded midfielder, and she is certainly a candidate for All-Ivy and even All-America honors in 2005.
Classmate Christine Dobrosky was an active player in 18 appearances last year, scoring 10 points and picking up 21 groundballs, and she will see an increased role in the midfield or on defense this season. Princeton also has sophomore Alex Gangler, who played in five games a year ago, freshman Julie McWilliams, who scored 56 goals last season for Haverford High School, and freshman Courtney Bird, an all-state player at Kent Place School, to bolster the midfield unit.
DEFENSE The Tigers led the nation in scoring defense last season, allowing fewer than six goals per game, but graduated a first-team All-America in Katie Norbury and an All-Ivy League player in Mary Beth Hogan.
Still, Princeton returns junior Lauren Vance, who may have been a bit of an unknown at the beginning of the 2004 season but ended the year as a third-team All-America. Often matching up with the opposition's best scorer, Vance led the Tigers with 29 caused turnovers in 2004. She has been honored as a Tewaaraton "Player to Watch" prior to her junior year.
Expect freshman Alison Murray, a two-time All-America at Episcopal Academy outside Philadelphia, to challenge for a starting spot on the defensive unit as well.
There are more experienced players on defense, though many of those players will be expected to play more than the complementary roles as they may have in the past. Jennifer Austin, a senior and tri-captain, is a much-improved player who has a chance to start on defense. Junior Caitlin Abidin saw the field in 11 games on defense and in the midfield last year, including a start against Delaware. Classmate Diana Zakem, who played in four games a year ago, is a much improved defensive presence, while Anita Rackovan, a junior, has played sparingly throughout her career but should battle for playing time in 2005.
Princeton also has sophomore Julie Fabrizio, who could see increased action after playing in three games as a freshman, and freshman Norris Novak, from the Bryn Mawr School program in Baltimore.
GOAL With a bit of inexperience on defense in 2005, Princeton will depend on maybe its most experienced player, Sarah Kolodner, to have an outstanding senior year.
Not that Kolodner has been too shabby in her first three seasons. She has just five losses in 58 career starts, is a three-time All-Ivy selection and is the program's all-time leader in goals-against average. She has often come up big in key spots for Princeton and may need only a bit more consistency to have an All-America season as a senior.
Kolodner played all but 78 minutes last season and allowed more than seven goals just seven times in 20 games. She also had a career-high 40 groundballs in addition to a nation's-best 5.71 goals-against average.
Princeton's backup goalies are a study in contrasts. Sophomore Colleen O'Boyle, who played in four games in reserve last year, is a bigger presence in the cage who saw a great deal of action in the fall and on the team's Australia trip. Freshman Meg Murray is a smaller, quicker player who prepped at Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts.