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Tigers Rout Brown, 14-6, To Earn NCAA Berth and Ivy Title
April 29, 2006 | Women's Lacrosse
April 29, 2006
Box Score
PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Saturday turned out to be the end of a great week for Kathleen Miller. And it was an even better day for a Princeton women's lacrosse team that appears to be hitting its stride at the best possible time.
Miller was simply sensational against Brown at Stevenson Field, scoring six goals and adding three assists in one of the better offensive displays in team history, as the No. 14 Tigers clinched the Ivy League's NCAA tournament berth and a share of the league title with a 14-6 win over the Bears.
The nine points tied Miller with Cristi Samaras '99 (twice) and Lindsey Biles '05 for the second-best single-game total in school history. She scored four first-half goals as Princeton took a 6-3 lead, then had three second-half assists as the Tigers made it a romp in the final 30 minutes.
"The Dartmouth game was really a wake-up call for all of us," said Miller, who had seven points (three goals, four assists) in Princeton's win over Delaware earlier this week. "We talked a lot about playing together and enjoying being out there, and I think you've seen that in the last two games."
Princeton (10-5, 6-1 Ivy) shares the league title with Cornell but earns the automatic NCAA bid thanks to its 10-6 win over the Big Red April 1. The NCAA appearance is Princeton's ninth consecutive and 16th overall, and the Ivy championship is Princeton's ninth overall and fifth in the last six years.
The Tigers made sure of that appearance with maybe their most dominating performance of the season overall. Princeton outshot the Bears (4-11, 1-6 Ivy) 41-11, including 23-4 in the second half. The Tigers hounded Brown into 34 turnovers, including many on clearing attempts. Brown goalie Melissa King, who had 21 saves against Harvard on Wednesday, had 18 saves Saturday to help keep the score as close as it was. "We were good all over the field today," said Princeton head coach Chris Sailer, who has now led the Tigers to 15 of those 16 NCAA appearances. "Our passing was on the mark, our shooting was good and our defending and redefending was solid right from the beginning."
Princeton was good right from the beginning, scoring twice in the first six minutes to take a lead it would never relinquish, but the Tigers really put the game away with an impressive first eight minutes of the second half. Leading 8-4 with 27 minutes left, Princeton then scored four times in the a 2:47 span to blow it open.
Freshman Anne Murray's free-position goal with 24:48 left made it 9-4, and Miller then found Alison Murray on a nice give-and-go 1:11 later to make it 10-4. Ashley Amo then took a pass from Miller behind the net 1:12 later and made it 11-4, and Katie Lewis-Lamonica then scored on a free-position shot 24 seconds later to make it 12-4 Princeton.
"Everybody who played contributed something to this win," said Sailer. "We had a lot of assisted goals, which always tells you something."
"We went out there with the right mentality to take control right away," said Miller, who has 16 points (nine goals, seven assists) in her last two games. "We found each other with good passes and the results were good."
Princeton, which defeated Brown for the 16th consecutive time dating back to 1991, has now finished the last 14 Ivy League seasons with one or fewer league losses.
Alison and Anne Murray and Amo each had two goals for Princeton, while Christine Casaceli had two assists. Amie Biros had all three of her goals in the first half for Brown, which lost its fifth straight game.
Miller's three assists gave her 50 for her career, moving her into ninth place all-time at Princeton in that category.
Princeton hosts Maryland in the season finale on Wed., May 3, at 7 p.m. NCAA tournament selections will be announced on Mon., May 8, with the first round played on Sun., May 14.