Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Yale
Tigers Hold Off Yale in Women's Lacrosse, 8-7, For Fourth Straight Win
April 08, 2006 | Women's Lacrosse
April 8, 2006
Box Score
Olachi Opara has dealt with quite a bit of adversity due to injury throughout her career at Princeton. Saturday afternoon, in another tight game for the Princeton women's lacrosse team, Opara dealt the Tigers a big win.
Opara stripped the ball from Yale goalie Ellen Cameron behind the net, circled the cage and then scored for Princeton with 13:31 left, giving the No. 8 Tigers an 8-7 win over Yale in an Ivy League game played in the rain at Class of 1952 Stadium.
Opara's goal, just her second of the season, was the final salvo in a game that saw neither team take more than a one-goal lead and one that featured three lead changes. The win was the fourth straight for Princeton (6-4, 3-0 Ivy) overall.
"I had made a similar play in the first half and I wasn't as aggressive as I should have been about going to goal," said Opara. "Coach Sailer told me at halftime that I needed to be aggressive if I made a play like that, and I'm glad I got the chance."
"Olachi did a great job in the second half," said Sailer. "Overall, it was our best redefending game of the year, and some of those turnovers we were able to cause gave us important possessions and goals."
Yale (6-6, 1-3 Ivy), which got 10 saves from goalie Ellen Cameron, including two on free-position attempts, looked like it would have a great chance to tie the game when Kat Peetz had a free-position attempt with 46 seconds left. But Peetz was whistled for a foul for leaving her spot before the whistle blew, and the Tigers would run out the clock from there.
All in all, Princeton forced 14 of Yale's 25 turnovers, including two important ones in their offensive end in the second half. In addition to Opara's game winner, Kathleen Miller's goal just 1:10 into the half that tied the game at 5-5 was a result of a Miller strip of a Yale defender. Yale slowed the game's tempo throughout and kept it close by winning 14 of the game's 17 draw controls, including all seven in the second half. The Bulldogs took a 5-4 lead at halftime after Meredith Callahan scored with just two seconds left, then tied the game at 7-7 midway through the second half on a Peetz goal.
Peetz scored first, 3:11 in, to give Yale a 1-0 lead, but two unassisted goals by Princeton's Katie Lewis-Lamonica made it 2-1 Tigers five minutes after that. Lewis-Lamonica's third goal of the half, with 1:28 left, tied the game at 4-4.
The Tigers took a 7-6 lead with 18:48 left in the game when Katie Cox took a nice feed from Kathleen Miller and scored past Cameron.
Princeton outshot Yale 23-16, including 12-7 in the second half. Cox had two goals for the Tigers, while Miller had a goal and two assists, the ninth straight game in which she has scored two or more points.
Taylor Fragapane added a goal and an assist for Yale, which hasn't won in Princeton since 1988.
Princeton has allowed just six second-half goals total in its last three games after each of those games was either tied or saw the Tigers behind at halftime.