No. 12 Women's Lacrosse Heads To Harvard Saturday

Saturday, April 23

Cambridge, Mass.

4:00 PM

Princeton University

Harvard

Buy Tickets

Photo by: Shelley M. Szwast

April 22, 2022 | Women's Lacrosse

No. 12 Princeton (9-3, 4-0 Ivy) at Harvard (5-6, 3-2 Ivy)
April 23 | 4 p.m.
ESPN+
Live Stats
Tickets

RANKINGS RECAP
Princeton enters this week ranked No. 12 in the ILWomen/IWLCA National Rankings and No. 12 in the Nike/US Lacrosse National Poll. The Tigers are 3-2 in games against teams ranked in the Top-25, with wins over then-No. 10 Virginia, then-No. 20 Temple and then-No. 17 USC and losses to then-No. 7 Loyola, then-No. 5 Stony Brook and then-No. 8 Maryland.

BREAKING DOWN THE IVY POSTSEASON SCENARIOS
With their win over Penn on Wednesday night, the Tigers improved to 4-0 inside the Ivy League one of two undefeated teams left inside Ivy play. While seeding is still up for grabs, the Tigers have all the necessary tiebreakers to ensure they will compete once again in the Ivy League Tournament. Princeton has now qualified for 10 of the 11 Ivy Tournaments and won five. Harvard is 3-2 inside the Ivy League, tied for third and looking for a win in either of its final two games to secure its spot in the postseason.

THE ALL-TIME SERIES
Princeton holds a 33-18 edge in the all-time series dating back to 1974. The Tigers have won the last eight meetings, starting with an 11-9 win in Princeton on April 13, 2013. The last game between the two teams was a 14-12 win for the Tigers -- also in New Jersey -- on April 13, 2019. Kyla Sears had five points (3g, 2a) in the game to lead Princeton in scoring.

ONE FINAL SAIL
Head coach Chris Sailer embarks on her final season as head coach ot the Tigers after announcing her retirement in November. Already a member of the US Lacrosse Hall of Fame, Sailer was announced for induction into the IWLCA Hall of Fame this past week. The winningest coach in program history, Sailer is No. 5 all-time among all NCAA women's lacrosse coaches -- and No. 2 in Division I -- with 427 wins. She is also No. 2 all-time in wins by a head coach at one institution in NCAA Lacrosse. She has won three NCAA championships during her time with the Tigers, and is a 15-time Ivy League champion. Against her alma mater all-time, Chris Sailer is 26-11, and an astounding 26-3 since 1993. She is 11-5 against the Crimson in Cambridge.

SEARS' CATALOG
Senior Kyla Sears enters the season with an impressive collection of stats and records. Her 265 points currently are No. 3 all-time by a Tiger -- 20 away from tying the top spot. She also enters this week with 177 career goals -- No. 3 all-time by a Tiger and 12 away from tying Crista Samaras '99 for No. 2. Her 88 assists are No. 2 all-time by a Princeton player -- three away from tying Erin McMunn '15 for the top spot and four way from becoming the program's all-time leader.

CLIMBING THE IVY RANKS
Not only is Kyla Sears making her move up the Princeton record book, she is vaulting her way up the Ivy record book as well. With three games to go in the regular season, she is No. 5 all-time in the Ivy League in points -- the two players directly ahead of her are the pair of Tigers she's tracking down. She is five goals away from the No. 6 spot all-time in the Ivy League and five assists away from the No. 7 spot.

ATOP THE ACTIVE NCAA LEADERS
Kyla Sears has totaled 265 points in 56 career games, averaging 4.73 points-per-game which currently ranks No. 7 among active Division I players. Her 3.16 goals-per-game rank No. 11 among active players and her 1.57 assists-per-game rank No. 15 among active DI players.

SEARS OWNS THE ARC
Kyla Sears is Princeton's all-time leader in free position goals with 61 -- 26 more than the second-place Tiger.

MARGE IS MARCHING UP THE CHARTS
Marge Donovan's 174 career draw controls entering the week rank No. 3 all-time by a Tiger. She is five away from tying Holly McGarvie '09 for No. 2 and 25 away from tying for No. 1. This season, she has 72 draw controls to go with 17 caused turnovers, also pitching in two goals and an assist. Donovan's 72 draw controls this season are No. 3 in a season since the stat started being tracked in 1993 -- setting a new career high. She is five away from moving into the No. 2 spot and passing Nonie Anderson in 2019.

FISH IS CATCHING ON
Goalkeeper Sam Fish has 505 saves over her 53 appearances, ranking No. 6 all-time in saves by a Princeton goalie -- seven away from No. 5.

BUONANNO IS BUENO
Sophomore Kari Buonanno registered 18 points (14g, 4 a) over her five games in 2020 and was on pace for a 70+ point season which would have been among the best single season in program history. She has 15 goals and 19 points in eight games this season, including a four-goal game at Virginia in the opener. She also has nine caused turnovers and eight ground balls, already surpassing her totals in those categories from her five games played in 2020.

GRACE ON FIRE
Sophomore Grace Tauckus had 17 goals in five games as a freshman in 2020, averaging 3.4 goals-per-game. Her pace was also in range of a Top-10 single-season mark for the Princeton program. Through 12 games this season, she has 28g, 4a for 32 points.

SHAKE AND BLAKE
McKenzie Blake has 31 points (24g. 7a) through 12 games, including a five-goal game at No. 17 USC. A two-way player, she has also caused eight turnovers and picked up 24 grounds balls.

MUELLER TIME
Sophomore Ellie Mueller has 15 points in 101 games played, including a four-assist game at No. 17 USC. She has 7g, 8a with 11 ground balls added.

KATE THE GREAT
Kate Mulham has set career highs in goals (24), assists (8), points (32), and ground balls (9) this season. She has 13 goals over her last three games, including a pair of five-goal games against Maryland and Penn.

SOPHIE, SO GOOD
Sophie Whiteway is seventh on the team with 18 points (13g, 5a) through 11 games, also factoring in huge in the midfield with 42 draw controls, seven caused turnovers and 11 ground balls. She had nine draw controls at USC.

KYLA SEARS NAMED TEWAARATON NOMINEE
Senior Kyla Sears is the only Ivy Leaguer among the 25 nominees named for the 2022 Tewaaraton Award on April 21. A four-time Watch List selection, this is the first time Sears has been tabbed among the 25 players in contention for national player of the year.

SEARS NAMED IVY LEAGUE OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK FOR SECOND TIME THIS SEASON
Kyla Sears had 11 points in two games against Maryland and Dartmouth, including an 8-point game against the Big Green which included six assists to tie the program's single game record. Her selection as Ivy Offensive Player of the Week was the second of the season and sixth of her career.

TIGERS SWEEP CALIFORNIA TRIP
Kyla Sears (4g, 3a) and McKenzie Blake (5g) led the offense, while Sophie Whiteway had nine draw controls and three goals as the Tigers never trailed in an 18-13 win at USC on Tuesday. Princeton would then cap its West Coast swing with a 27-18 win over San Diego State. Nina Montes (5g, 1a) and Kyla Sears (4g, 1a) had big days on offense, as did McKenzie Blake and Grace Tauckus who each had four goals. Marge Donovan had 11 draw controls, tying Princeton's single-game high.

DONOVAN AND SEARS SWEEP IVY WEEKLY HONORS
After a 2-0 trip to California, Princeton swept both Ivy League weekly awards. Marge Donovan was a key cog in the draw game with her 11 draw controls at SDSU, earning Defensive Player of the Week honors. Kyla Sears had 12 points over the two games, securing Ivy Offensive Player of the Week honors for the second time this season.

TIGERS CONQUER CORNELL TO OPEN IVY PLAY
Princeton again needed a late comeback, but improved to 3-0 with a 13-12 win over Cornell on March 5 to open Ivy League play. The Tigers trailed, 12-10, after three quarters but shut the Big Red out over the game's final 23:12 en route to the win. Kyla Sears and Ellie Mueller each had three goals and an assist in the win. Sam Fish made eight saves, including a game-saver with 0:05 left to play.

PRINCETON TAMES TEMPLE IN HOME OPENER
The Tigers needed some time to pull away from No. 22 Temple, but closed the game with its final four goals in a 14-10 win at Sherrerd Field. Kyla Sears had three of her six goals in that fourth quarter, assisting on another. Grace Tauckus had four goals, and McKenzie Blake had a four-point game with three assists. Sam Fish made nine saves, five of which came in the third quarter.

TIGERS OPEN WITH WIN AT #11 VIRGINIA
Princeton's first game since March 8, 2020 was a resounding 17-11 win at No. 11 Virginia. The Tigers never trailed in the game, receiving points from 11 different players. Kari Buonanno had four goals, while Grace Tauckus had three goals and an assist. Freshman McKenzie Blake had a hat trick in her debut, adding four ground balls. Princeton played the final 26:57 without All-American senior Kyla Sears following her second yellow card -- Princeton's young guns would rally and turn a three-goal lead at the time into a five-goal win.

SAM'S BIG START GAINS NATIONAL ATTENTION
Goalie Sam Fish made 15 saves in the win at UVA, one off her career high. Her work resulted in IWLCA National Defensive Player of the Week and Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week honors.

PRESEASON PICK
For the fifth season in a row, Princeton has been chosen as the preseason No. 1 in the Ivy League Preseason Poll. The Tigers were a unanimous top choice, receiving all 18 first place votes.

THE WATCH
Marge Donovan and Kyla Sears were two of the 50 women named to the Tewaaraton Award Watch List ahead of the 2022 season Sears has now been named to the Tewaaraton Watch List in each of her four seasons, for Donovan this is her third selection.

ALL-AMERICAN AMERICANS
Sears and Donovan have also has red, white and blue running through their veins in addition to our Orange & Black. This fall, they represented the United States at the Super Sixes event at US Lacrosse headquarters in Maryland. Ahead of this season, they both were named Preseason All-Americans by both US Lacrosse and Inside Lacrosse.

RUNNING IT BACK
Of Princeton 75 goals scored over five games in 2020, players who accounted for 85% of that scoring return for the Tigers this season. In addition to Sears, Tauckus and Buonanno the Tigers return big contributions from Kate Mulham (6 goals, 2 assists), Maria Pansini (3g, 3a) and Gaby Hamburger (0g, 5a).

D-UNIT
Princeton's defense is an experienced group. Marge Donovan, Mary Murphy and Olivia Pugh each started all five games in 2020 and enter this year with a combined 131 games played among them. They have also collectively posted 103 caused turnovers and 192 ground balls.