No. 9 Princeton Heads To National Championship With 2-1 Victory over No. 4 Virginia

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WINSTON SALEM, N.C. – The No. 9 Princeton Tigers earned a spot in the National Championship Game with a 2-1 victory over the No. 4 Virginia Cavaliers on Friday evening at Kenter Stadium.

This will be the fourth national championship game for the Tigers (1996, 1998, 2012). Princeton brought home the NCAA crown with a victory over North Carolina in 2012. It's the fourth straight season that the Tigers have knocked the Cavaliers out of the NCAA Tournament.

I thought it was a battle of a game," said head coach Carla Tagliente. "I think when you get to this level and the Final Four, it's very small margins each way and each team is coming out on pure emotion and I think it took a little while for us to settle into the game. I give UVA credit; I think defensively were outstanding. I don't think we handled them quite well early on. They're a bit more physical than we're used to. I think they were more proactive early on going to fifty-fifty balls, but I think we adjusted and played great in the second half and did well enough to take this one."

Virginia registered the first goal of the contest directly off a corner as Rachel Robinson knocked in a tally with assists from Annie McDonough and Anzel Vilojen eight minutes in.

The Cavaliers had two great chances to add on, but Grace Baylis denied them both. On the second chance, UVA's Colleen Norair was left alone with just Baylis, but the senior goalie sent the ball away.

UVA had consecutive corners as the second frame got underway, but neither got through. On the next possession down the field, Emma Street pulled the goalie out from the cage, but had her attempt saved.

With about two and half minutes left in the first half, Hannah Davey collected the ball and whipped a great pass into the circle for Ali McCarthy. McCarthy sent a hard shot that went in and tied the contest at 1-all.

Baylis collected her third save of the contest as she blocked a close attempt two minutes into the second half.

Princeton earned a corner at 8:50 mark of the stanza, but MaryKate Neff's ball was blocked. Less than a minute later, Julianna Tornetta sent an attempt on the cage that was saved, but she corralled the rebound and touched it in.

The Tigers had another great chance right before the end of quarter, but Sammy Popper's shot hit the post.

Virginia secured a corner as the fourth stanza began, but the shot was blocked. The Tigers couldn't add on to their lead following a corner after 10-minute yellow card to Virginia. The Cavaliers had an empty net with 2:53 remaining and earned one more corner with 11 seconds left. The Cavaliers had three shots, but couldn't find the equalizer.

Princeton improves to 16-4 overall and now has a 13-game winning streak. North Carolina was won 45 games in a row and is the two-time defending national champion. The Tar Heels defeated the Tigers, 4-3, on Sept. 6. The game on Sunday will get underway at 1 p.m.

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