Tigers Take on Stony Brook Saturday at Sherrerd

Saturday, March 9

Princeton, N.J.

1:00 PM

Princeton University

Stony Brook

Photo by: Shelley M. Szwast

March 07, 2019 | Women's Lacrosse

No. 18 Stony Brook at No. 9 Princeton l Saturday, March 9 l 1 PM I Sherrerd Field at Class of 1952 Stadium
ESPN+ l Live Stats

Chris Sailer has won 402 games as Princeton's head women's lacrosse coach, of which exactly one has come against Stony Brook. On the other hand, the teams have only played once, so her percentage against the Seawolves is pretty good.

As hard as it is to believe, Princeton and Stony Brook have only met once, and that one wasn't even planned. That game was back in the second round of the 2015 NCAA tournament, a game that Princeton won 8-4 on Long Island.

The teams meet for the first time in the regular season as both play their fifth games of the 2019 season. Both also come in nationally ranked - Princeton at No. 9; Stony Brook at No. 18 - adding more intrigue to this early-season matchup.

Princeton vs. Stony Brook: Five Storylines

The last time out
Princeton is looking to maintain the momentum of its last game, actually last two games, as it takes on Stony Brook. On the other hand, the Seawolves are looking to continue their own early season trend, though only for this game, not the next one.

Since a 14-9 loss to Virginia two weeks ago, Princeton has outscored its next two opponents by a combined 40-11, with a 21-10 win over Penn State, who had been unbeaten at the time, and then a 19-1 win over Columbia, a team that made the Ivy League tournament a year ago.

The combined halftime score of the last two games was 27-3.

As for Stony Brook, the Seawolves are 2-2, having gone win-loss-win-loss out of the gate. More specifically, Stony Brook defeated Colorado and then lost to Denver on a trip to Colorado and then defeated Towson and, most recently, lost 15-12 to Stanford in the team's only home game to date.

A year ago
Princeton and Stony Brook came close to meeting last year, again in the NCAA tournament. Princeton defeated Syracuse in the first round of the tournament and then fell to Boston College in Round 2. One round later, in the quarterfinals, BC knocked out Stony Brook 12-11.

That loss to Boston College was the first of the year for Stony Brook, who had been ranked No. 1 in the polls at the end of the regular season. In fact, Stony Brook won its first 20 games a year ago and, in the 2018 and 2017 seasons combined, went 40-3.

Turnovers
Princeton has turned the ball over 72 times in four games, which seems like a lot except when you consider two things.

First, Princeton's opponents have turned it over more than Princeton has, with 74 turnovers in four games. Princeton has caused 46 of those turnovers, by the way.

Second, Princeton turned the ball over 27 times in its loss to Virginia. In the three wins, Princeton has turned it over 45 times, or 15 per. In fact, after the 27 turnovers against UVa, Princeton has only 25 in its last two games, with 13 against Penn State and 12 against Columbia.

Player of the Week
Elizabeth George was named the Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week and the IWLCA National Offensive Player of the Week.

The senior had a nine-goal, one-assist, 10-point week in the wins over Penn State and Columbia. She also had 10 draw controls and three caused turnovers, and she scored her nine goals on just 12 shots.

George's offensive output pushed her closer to the 100-goal mark for her career, as she brings 92 into the Stony Brook game. George is either first or second on the team in goals, assists, points, draw controls and caused turnovers.

Possession
The team that controls the draws is often the team who wins, and both of these teams are used to winning more than they lose – both draws and games.

As a team, Princeton has won 57.7 percent of its draws. Stony Brook isn't far behind, winning 54.3 of its draws.

In fact, in their combined eight games, Princeton and Stony Brook have won better than half the draws in seven games. Princeton has done so in all four games. Stony Brook has done so in three games, with the lone exception its 14-8 win over Towson in which the Seawolves won 11 and Towson won 13.

Other notes

* Princeton and Stony Brook both share the ball well. The two teams lead their leagues in assists per game and are ranked 12^th (Princeton) and 15^th (Stony Brook) in Division I.

* Kathryn Hallett continues to lead Division I in shooting percentage, with 11 goals on an amazing 12 shots, for a .917 percentage. Princeton as a team is third in Division I, shooting .543 for the year.

* Kyla Sears has seven assists in the last two games after not having any assists in the first two games.

* Princeton has three players in double figures in goals through four games – Tess D'Orsi (17), Elizabeth George (12), Kathryn Hallet (11).

* Freshman Maria Pansini did not score in the season opener, but she has at least one goal in each of the last three, with a total of four goals (with one assist).

* Alex Argo leads the team in caused turnovers, with seven. Tess D'Orsi and Elizabeth George, both of whom play attack, are tied for second with six each.

* Princeton is off for 10 days after this game. The Tigers will have midterms this coming week, followed by a trip to Florida to take on the 16-ranked Gators in the first meeting between the teams.