.png&width=24&type=webp)
Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Yale
Players Mentioned
No. 2 Tigers Use Strong Second Half To Pull Away For 9-6 Win Over Yale
April 05, 2008 | Women's Lacrosse
Put to the test in the first half by a patient Yale team looking to spoil a so-far undefeated season, the No. 2 Princeton women's lacrosse team showed, in the second half, just why they're undefeated.
Christine Casaceli scored scored twice in the first eight minutes after halftime to give the Tigers a cushion and Holly McGarvie concluded a three-goal run with 13 minutes left to give Princeton a five-goal lead as the Tigers beat No. 13 Yale, 9-6, to improve to 9-0.
Princeton, also 3-0 in the Ivy League, trailed 2-0 nine minutes into the game but held the Bulldogs (8-4, 2-2 Ivy) off the scoreboard for the next 30 minutes.
In the meantime, the Tigers tied the game with two goals in a four-minute span midway through the first half, took a 3-2 halftime lead after Ashley Amo scored with 10 minutes left in the first half and never had less than a three-goal lead after Kristin Schwab's spectacular one-handed goal with 18 minutes in the second half.
"I thought defensively we did a great job for most of the game," said Princeton head coach Chris Sailer. "That allowed us to be able to work through some of the uncharacteristic things we did early in the game until we got into a better rhythm in the second half."
"I think we relaxed a little bit and let things come to us as opposed to forcing plays," said Casaceli, who now leads Princeton with 20 goals this season.
The Tigers were stellar on defense throughout the game, causing 11 of Yale's 20 turnovers, including three caused turnovers apiece for senior Alison Murray and junior Holly McGarvie. McGarvie, who was held without a point for the first time in 25 games Wednesday at Columbia, also gave Princeton its biggest lead at 8-3 with 12:51 lead thanks to a nice feed from Ashley Amo, essentially ending Yale's chances.
Yale, which defeated Princeton 6-5 in New Haven last year, got three goals and an assist from Lauren Taylor. After Taylor scored with 21 minutes left in the game to pull her team within 5-3 however, the Bulldogs didn't score again for another 15 minutes.
Shots, draw controls and ground balls were even in a game that saw the Bulldogs use some Princeton turnovers and time-consuming offensive possessions to take the early lead. But Katie Lewis-Lamonica's unassisted drive to the goal 11 minutes into the game got her team on the scoreboard and started the five-goal run that gave the Tigers the lead for good.
As usual, balance carried the day for the Princeton offense. Seven players scored the Tigers' nine goals, and four players had an assist. The Tigers again scored on nearly half their shots (9 of 19) and got six saves from goalie Kaitlyn Perrelle, including four in the second half when Princeton took control.
Princeton beat Yale for the 10th straight time at home. Princeton coach Chris Sailer faced off against one of her former players on the Yale sideline in Laura Field '00, a three-team All-Ivy League goalie for the Tigers from 1997-2000.
The Tigers play at Harvard next Saturday at noon in the first half of a women's/men's doubleheader against the Crimson.