Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Loyola
No. 6 Tigers Start Strong, Defeat No. 12 Loyola 12-7 in Women's Lacrosse
March 08, 2006 | Women's Lacrosse
March 8, 2006
Box Score
BALTIMORE - Princeton got off to the kind of start Wednesday afternoon against Loyola that it didn't get off to a few days before in its season opener. The final result was a different one, and a happier one, for the Tigers as well.
Alex Gangler scored three times in a five-minute stretch late in the first half to give the Tigers a seven-goal lead and Meg Murray made eight saves in her first career start in goal as the No. 6 Tigers defeated the No. 12 Greyhounds, 12-7, in a women's lacrosse game played at Diane Geppi-Aikens Field.
Princeton (1-1), which also got three goals from both Katie Lewis-Lamonica and Kathleen Miller, scored three times in a 1:17 span in the first four minutes to take a 3-0 lead. After Loyola's Kate McHarg scored midway through the half to make it 5-2, Gangler took charge, scoring twice in a 30-second span to make it 7-2 and again off a nice feed from Katie Atkins with 3:51 left in the half to make it 9-2.
"We'd been working on some plays in practice and we made them happen today in the game," said Gangler, who had five goals on five shots last year and scored a goal on each of her first three shots Wednesday. "I got some great passes and was able to finish."
Loyola (2-2), which lost to Princeton for the fourth straight time, got no closer than a four-goal deficit in the second half. "This game was night and day compared to Saturday," said Princeton head coach Chris Sailer. "We came out ready to play right from the beginning and took advantage of our opportunities to get a lead."
Kristin Schwab had two goals for the second straight game for Princeton, while Atkins had a goal and three assists in her first career appearance after missing all of her freshman season due to injury.
Princeton also got a strong game from Murray, who had five of her eight saves in the first half. The sophomore was making her first career start after playing just 30 minutes in reserve duty a year ago.
Talia Shacklock and McHarg each had two goals for Loyola, which won 12 of the game's 21 draw controls. The Greyhounds scored twice in the first six minutes of the second half to cut their deficit to 9-5, but a Schwab free-position goal for Princeton with 19 minutes left pushed her team's lead back to five goals.
Princeton plays host to second-ranked Duke Sunday at 11 a.m. in a game that will be televised live by ESPNU. The game, along with men's lacrosse game against Virginia at 2 p.m., has been moved to Princeton Stadium from its original location at Class of 1952 Stadium.