Sears Leads Charge As No. 11 Women's Lacrosse Tames No. 20 Temple

Saturday, February 26

Princeton, N.J.

12:00 PM

Princeton University

2-0

Temple

3-1

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Temple	4	4	1	1	10
Princeton	4	6	0	4	14

Photo by: Shelley M. Szwast

Sears Leads Charge As No. 11 Women's Lacrosse Tames No. 20 Temple

February 26, 2022 | Women's Lacrosse

Box Score

PRINCETON – No. 11 Princeton started slow in its first home game in over two years, but the Tigers settled in for a 14-10 win over No. 20 Temple at Class of 1952 Stadium.

With the win, Princeton is 2-0 for the first time since the 2017 season, while the Owls suffered their first loss to move to 3-1 in 2022.

Notes To Know

Princeton picked up its first win at Class of 1952 Stadium in 1,022 days dating back to the 2019 NCAA Tournament. Princeton only played one home game in 2020 before COVID-19 cancelled the remaining portion of that season and the Ivy League did not compete in 2021.
The Tigers improved to 25-9 all-time against Temple and have now won six in a row against the Owls.
Kyla Sears tied her career high in goals (6) and points (8).
Sears now ranks No. 6 all-time in points (217), goals (147) and assists (70) by a Tiger.
McKenzie Blake had a goal and three assists. She now has seven points in her first two career games.
Marge Donovan had five draw controls in the game, moving into No. 6 spot all-time in draws by a Tiger with 112.
Sam Fish had nine saves on her way to the win – all nine stops coming after the first quarter. She made five saves while allowing only one goal in a third quarter where her team did not score a goal. Fish also tied her career high with five ground balls.
There were eight ties and four lead changes in the game.

How It Happened

Neither team had a lead of more than one goal until the 3:03 mark of the second quarter when the Owls scored to take a 6-4 lead. That was the largest lead either team had until a 4-0 run from the Tigers to turn a 10-10 game into a 14-10 lead at the final buzzer.

Both sides traded goals throughout the first quarter, with Kyla Sears and Kari Buonanno responding for Princeton each time the Owls scored to take a lead. Finally, it was Grace Tauckus who scored back-to-back goals 1:11 apart to give Princeton its first lead with 0:24 remaining in the first quarter. Temple, however, would win the ensuing draw and charge downfield for a Camryn Zavacky goal with five seconds left in the opening period to tie the game, 4-4, after 15:00 of play.

Tiger goal! A beautiful sequence ends with a Grace Tauckus goal. Assist from Kate Mulham. pic.twitter.com/yKcReGd2I6
— Princeton Women's Lax (@princetonwlax) February 26, 2022

In the second quarter, Temple scored twice in the opening 3:03 off goals from Mackenzie Roth and Abaigeal Ryan to take a 6-4 lead. At that point, the Tigers needed a stop and got one when the defense forced a Belle Mastropietro shot wide and Sam Fish won the race to the ground ball to give Princeton possession. She quickly worked the ball upfield and McKenzie Blake found Tauckus for her third of the game 4:29 into the second quarter.

Kyla Sears would not the game at 6-6 just before the midway mark of the period, finishing off transition started after Sam Fish made a point-blank save on. Qunn Nicolai shot.

The Owls regained the lead with 3:36 left in the second quarter, but Princeton would score four times before the end of the half to take a 10-8 lead at intermission. The key sequence came after Mastropietro scored to tie the game, 8-8, with 0:52 left in the period. The Tigers won the ensuing draw via Marge Donovan and then quickly worked the ball to Sophie Whiteway who fed Kari Buonanno for a goal with 0:28 left. Buonanno then won the next draw and the Tigers needed just 16 seconds for Sears to dish off to Tauckus for her fourth goal of the half with 0:12 remaining.

That lead held throughout the third quarter as Temple scored the quarter's only goal. Sam Fish was the story in the third for Princeton, making five saves while her team struggled to find the back of the net. It was a bit of redemption for the netminder after a tough first period, and her work frustrated the Owls who otherwise thought they'd have taken a lead to the fourth.

Sam Fish with a nice save at the end of the 3rd. Princeton up 10-9 with one quarter to play! pic.twitter.com/j03Kj35599
— Princeton Women's Lax (@princetonwlax) February 26, 2022

In the final frame, Temple tied the game, 10-10, with 12:19 to play. However, that was the last time the Owls scored as Princeton went on a methodical 4-0 run to close out the game. Sears netted the game-winner 0:50 after Temple had tied the game, her first of three goals in the fourth quarter. She would follow two minutes later to make it 12-10, Tigers.

The final insurance markers were similar plays designed by Sears and Blake. Each assisted on a goal by the other player 1:51 apart, sending nifty passes through traffic to a dodging teammate who tucked home vital insurance tallies.

Kyla Sears' 6th goal of the game puts the Tigers up 4 and forces a Temple timeout! pic.twitter.com/NTx3zqN1MC
— Princeton Women's Lax (@princetonwlax) February 26, 2022

Princeton is home next weekend, opening Ivy League play against Cornell on March 5 at Class of 1952 Stadium. Opening draw with the Big Red is set for 1 p.m. on Faculty & Staff Appreciation Day.