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Princeton University Athletics
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2008 Princeton Women's Lacrosse Season Outlook
February 27, 2008 | Women's Lacrosse
If the Princeton women's lacrosse team hopes to reach its always-high goals for the 2008 season, the Tigers will need to do so by learning from the past.
Not so much the distant past, since the Tigers long ago learned that simply having Princeton written on your uniform doesn't guarantee anything except your opponent's best game. Instead, head coach Chris Sailer and her 2008 Tigers need only to look at the more recent past, specifically a 2007 season that was filled with what-ifs and close calls.
Princeton had six regular-season losses in 2007, and five of them came by two goals or less, including three one-goal losses. Three of the losses came to final four teams. In all, the six defeats came by a total of 11 goals.
Contrast that with Princeton's other 10 games, wins that came by an average margin of more than seven goals per game, and head coach Chris Sailer knows that the potential is there for her 2008 team to turn those heartbreakers into victories.
“I think I speak for all us when I say that we're tired of being the “almost” team,” says Sailer, now in her 22nd season and ranked second among active NCAA Division I coaches with an impressive 269 career wins. “You only need to look at last season to realize how one play or one mistake can make a huge difference in the result.”
Princeton's goals, as always, are to compete for the Ivy League championship and a final four berth. In 2007, for the first time in a remarkable 14-year stretch, the Tigers finished with more than one Ivy loss. In 2008, for the first time since 1988, no player on the current roster has played in a final four.
Then again, maybe the distant past will serve as motivation for this Princeton team. But Sailer knows that her team, based on more recent results, isn't far away from making its own statement.
“I really like our chemistry and our willingness to work hard,” she says. “There's a good mix, some terrific new players and returning players who are ready to step into new leadership roles.”
Indeed, the fact remains that nine of Princeton's usual starters from 2007 return, including a pair of All-Americas and two more All-Ivy picks. So the Tigers will have plenty of standouts on every part of the field who remember the recent past and are determined to make it ancient history.
LEADERSHIP FROM FRONT TO BACK
Princeton has three captains in 2008, a unique mix that features one unsung hero on attack, a dynamo in the midfield and as solid a player as you could want on defense. Each will be leaders for an experienced Princeton team.
Senior Norris Novak, on defense, is one of Princeton's two returning All-America picks. She makes up for any height disadvantage with intelligence and composure, often forgoing the spectacular play for the simple one. A third-team All-America and first-team All-Ivy pick a year ago, she had 27 ground balls and 16 caused turnovers in 2007.
For the second time in three years, Princeton has a junior captain in midfielder Katie Cox. Cox, who has started every game of her career, is probably her team's best communicator and, along with classmate Holly McGarvie, one of the Tigers' most versatile players. One of five Princeton players in 2007 with 25 or more points, she also was among the team leaders in ground balls, draw controls and caused turnovers.
Senior Ashley Amo has always been a dangerous finisher and crafty playmaker around the cage, and she will look to make an even bigger impact on attack this season with the graduation of top-five all-time scorer Kathleen Miller. Amo scored on better than 50% of her shots last year (her 21 goals were fourth on the team), and she has displayed a knack for having her best efforts in Princeton's biggest games.
EXPLOSIVE OFFENSE
Princeton has one of the most prolific scorers in the nation in senior Katie Lewis-Lamonica, a U.S. Developmental Team member who could finish in the top five on Princeton's all-time goal scoring list by season's end. Her team-high 51 goals in 2007 ranked among the top goal-scoring seasons in team history, and her seven goals in a win over Temple were the most by a Princeton player in 17 years.
Lewis-Lamonica, a second-team All-America and first-team All-Ivy pick a year ago, is also a terrific two-way player that often defends one of the opposition's top scorers.
Junior Holly McGarvie, an honorable mention All-Ivy pick and also an All-Ivy field hockey player, simply does it all. The 2006 Ivy Rookie of the Year had 37 points as a sophomore and also led Princeton in both caused turnovers and draw controls. She had Princeton's overtime game-winning goal against Johns Hopkins in 2007 and was outstanding all over the field in the Tigers' late run to the NCAA tournament.
Princeton averaged 17 goals per game in its 10 victories last year, and a host of others are ready to help the Tigers reach those kinds of numbers again.
One is junior Kristin Schwab, now fully recovered from a freshman year knee injury and ready to provide the same kind of all-around explosiveness provided by McGarvie, also her field hockey teammate. She had 13 goals a year ago. Another is junior Christine Casaceli, a slick stickhandler inside who had 14 goals a year ago and ranks third among returning players with nine assists in 2007. Yet another is sophomore Kristin Morrison, who started seven games as a freshman, had 11 goals and possesses a rifle shot that can find the net from close in or long range.
Alison Murray and Anne Murray, not related, are also likely to be key factors on attack and in the midfield. Each started games a year ago, and each scored five goals. Alison proved to be a key factor on draws in 2007, scooping up 17 to rank among the team leaders, while Anne is a versatile player all over the field as evidenced by her 12 ground balls and seven caused turnovers last season. Senior Courtney Bird also looks to contribute to the Princeton attack in 2008.
A pair of freshmen, Lizzie Drumm from Long Island (and a high school teammate of Morrison) and Caroline Markowitz from Baltimore, look like good bets to be important members of Princeton's attack as well. Sophomores Jenna Washabaugh and two-sport athlete Kaitlin Donovan are also making huge strides, while Princeton native and freshman Nellie Morris was a prolific scorer for championship teams at the nearby Lawrenceville School.
Junior Sarah Steele has fought through injury in her first two seasons but provides an excellent option on attack, while sophomore Emery Maine, also a member of the national championship women's squash team, certainly showed promise as a freshman.
Two more freshmen, Maisie Devine from Baltimore and Kaitlyn Mauritz from Massachusetts, will look to contribute to the Tiger attack.
ON THE DEFENSIVE
With the exception of Novak and junior Marie McKenna, Princeton doesn't have the same experience on its defensive unit as it does elsewhere on the field. That gives plenty of opportunities for formerly unheralded players to make names for themselves in 2008.
McKenna is certainly an All-Ivy candidate on defense, and she should take a bigger leadership role on a young group. She missed the first half of last season due to an offseason knee injury, but was able to return to start the final six games. In those six starts, her stats were impressive: 12 ground balls, nine draw controls and four caused turnovers.
Juniors Marine Graham and Caity Manzo have each worked extremely hard the past two years and are now potential starters on defense. Sarah Vance, the younger sister of former Ivy Player of the Year Lauren Vance, has a similar combination of height and athleticism and should be in the mix for a starting spot.
Freshman Cindy Kroll, who attended the same school as Novak (Bryn Mawr) in Baltimore, has also impressed on defense in the preseason, while classmate Eloise Ughetta, who attended Deerfield Academy, is also an option.
Sophomore Katie Rogers, who saw limited action last year, could return late in the year after sustaining an ACL injury, while classmate Emily Tiernan is also a defensive option.
Princeton does have experience in goal in 2008 in sophomore Kaitlyn Perrelle, who played in every game as a freshman and started 13 of the last 14 games. She had 10 saves against Georgetown in the regular-season finale a year ago, including several spectacular stops, and has increased confidence in herself and from the coaching staff as a sophomore. She also has been helped by the tutelage of new assistant coach Amy Altig, a former standout goalie at James Madison.
Freshman Erin Tochihara, just the second Tiger player to hail from the state of Colorado, will vie for time in goal as well in 2008. Tochihara is as quick as they come and presents a great option for the Tigers in goal.
ON SCHEDULE
Princeton's home schedule in 2008 is a challenging one that features three of last year's final four teams (Duke, Virginia and Penn) as well as two more 2007 NCAA tournament teams in Maryland and Ivy rival Yale. The Tigers will also welcome James Madison to Class of 1952 Stadium in March as the teams renew their rivalry for the first time since the 2000 season.
Princeton's Ivy schedule begins March 29 against Cornell in a game that will be televised live by CBS College Sports (formerly CSTV). For the second straight year, the Tigers play Georgetown on the final weekend of the regular season (May 3). This year's matchup will take place in Washington, D.C.