Women's Lacrosse Hosts Harvard On ESPNU Sunday WIth Ivy Tournament Fate At Stake

Game #15: Princeton (6-8, 3-3 Ivy League) vs. Harvard (8-5, 4-2 Ivy League)
April 30 | Sherrerd Field | 12 p.m.
ESPNU | ESPN+ | International Stream | Live Stats

Princeton And Harvard Set For 54th Meeting All-Time
Princeton holds a 35-18 all-time lead in the series, with wins in the last 10 meetings dating back to the 2013 season. Last yer, the Tigers won a pair of games between the two teams -- a 14-9 win in Cambridge and a 13-6 victory in the Ivy League Tournament semifinals in Princeton.

The last regular season meeting between the two teams saw Princeton outscore Harvard, 7-1, in the fourth quarter to turn an 8-7 deficit into a 14-9 win. Five different players had goals in that fourth quarter for the Tigers, including a pair from Kate Mulham - who had three total goals in the game. McKenzie Blake and Samantha DeVito each had two goals as well.

In the playoffs in May, Kyla Sears had a 6g, 3a afternoon to lead all scorers. Among Princeton players returning for this year's game, Kari Buonanno (2g, 2a) and Grace Tauckus (3g, 1a) had impact games.

26 Different Ivy Tournament Scenarios In Play This Weekend
It's going to be a wild weekend in the Ivy League. Of the eight Ivy League teams, only two know their fate for next weekend -- Penn is the top seed as outright Ivy champs, and Columbia will finish in eighth and not make the Ivy Tournament. Other than that... your guess is as good as ours. The other six teams are all in play to earn berths in the Ivy Tournament or have their season end. The Ivy League sent out a list of the 26 different scenarios, and you can find it here.

The three other games this weekend -- Dartmouth at Penn, Yale at Columbia, and Brown at Cornell -- all take place on Saturday. That means the Tigers and Crimson will know their direct paths to the postseason when they take the field on Sunday.

If Brown, Yale and Penn each win on Saturday, both teams are in regardless of Sunday's outcome

The only scenario where Saturday's results lead to Princeton being eliminated before they play on Sunday is if Cornell, Yale, and Dartmouth all win on Saturday.

There are multiple scenarios where goal differential in a Princeton win over Harvard on Saturday determines who gets in. Like we said... it's going to be a wild weekend.

Celebrating The Class of 20231
Sunday's game is also Senior Day for the seven members of the Class of 2023 -- Shannon Berry, Meghan Curran, Kate Mulham, Maria Pansini, Christy Sieber, Shea Smith and Lilian Stout. A group which has been part of two Ivy League championships, two Ivy League Tournament titles, two NCAA Tournaments and three NCAA Tournament wins will be honored after the game for their contributions to Princeton Lacrosse!

Say Grace!
Grace Tauckus reached the 100-point mark at Penn last week, and enters the game with 102 points in 38 career games -- averaging 2.68 points-per-game. She has 86 goals and 16 assists in her career, scoring her 86 goals on 122 career shots on goal. She has at least one goal in 37 of her 39 career games -- and has scored 2+ in 26 of her 39 games.

Keeping Track Of Kari
Kari Buonanno also recently reached the 100-point mark, doing so at Dartmouth on April 22. She enters this week with 70 goals and 32 assists, averaging 3.09 points-per-game. She has scored at least one goal in 31 of her 33 games she has played as a Tiger, and she has at least two goals in 14 of her last 17 games dating to last season. Named an honorable mention Midseason All-American by Inside Lacrosse, Buonanno has set new career highs with 29 goals and 17 assists for 46 points over her 14 games this season. She has also set a new single-season best with 40 draw controls.

MacDonald's Serving Up Points
First-year attacker Jami MacDonald has made a great first impression, tallying 36 points (23g, 13a) over her 14 games. MacDonald is following the lead of her older brother Mike, a 2015 Princeton graduate and a Roper Trophy winner as the top senior male athlete in his class who ranks fifth all-time with the Princeton men in career points with 208. MacDonald's single-game high in points this year came at Rutgers where she tallied seven (6g, 1a). She also has a pair of five-point games, doing so against Penn State (2g, 3a) and Columbia (4g, 1a).

Shake And Blake!
Sophomore McKenzie Blake had 46 points (36g, 10a) over her first 19 collegiate games last season as a rookie, averaging 2.42 points-per-game. This year, she is already up to 40 points (35g, 5a) over 13 appearances -- averaging 3.08 points-per-game. Through 32 career games, she has 86 points (71g, 15a) and is averaging 2.69points-per-game. Blake played more of a two-way game last season, with 12 CTs and 34 GBs. This year, her primary focus has been working on attack from X but she has still chipped in 17 GBs and added 20 draw controls after winning just three last season.

Young Guns
Amelia Hughes and Jami MacDonald are two of the 20 freshmen named to the Inside Lacrosse Freshman Impact Rankings. The two are the only Ivy League players on the list, which was presented alphabetically. Hughes, who has started every game in goal for the Tigers, is seventh nationally in saves per game at 10.5 while leading the Ivy League in saves-per-game, saves (147) and save percentage (.435). She has also been the Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week (after a 14-save outing against USC) and the IWLCA Defensive Player of the Week, after a 19-save performance against Temple.

Coming Up Hughes
First-year goalkeeper Amelia Hughes has acclimated herself well to college lacrosse, drawing the start in each game to commence her career. She has registered 10+ saves in 8 of her 14 games, and has four games with a save percentage north of .500. Her high-water mark in saves this season came in a 19-save performance at Tempe which earned IWLCA National Defensive Player of the Week honors. Her 10.5 saves-per-game and 147 saves are most among rookie keepers and her .435 save% is fifth among first-year goalies.

Goal Oriented
Blake McKenzie (vs. Temple), Nina Montes (vs. Cornell) and Jami MacDonald (vs. Rutgers) have both had six-goal games this season. For the season, Princeton has eight players in double figures in goals — Blake (33), Buonanno (24), MacDonald (23), Kate Mulham (22), Grace Tauckus (19), Nina Montes (17), Ellie Mueller (11) and Sophie Whiteway (10).

On The Draw
Sophie Whiteway leads the team in draw controls with 41, while Kari Buonanno is second with 40 . Whiteway won nine draws against Brown and eight draws against Columbia, while Buonanno's single-game high was six at Rutgers.

First-Rate Fourth Quaters
Princeton is outscoring opponents, 50-30, in fourth quarters this season.

Kate The Great!
Kate Mulham missed all of the 2019 season with an ACL injury, but returned to form in the 2020 season with eight points in five games. Last year was a breakout season for Mulham with 35 goals and 48 points in 19 games -- including five-goal games against Maryland and Penn. She has 34 points (26g, 8a) in 14 games this season, including a a pair of five-goal games at Saint Joseph's and against Brown. She had seven total points against the Bears, adding a pair of assists.

Know The Name Nina
Sophomore Nina Montes had 23 points in 17 games last season, playing mostly in the second line of attack. This year, she has 25 points in 14 games. She had a six-point game at San Diego State (5g, 1) last season and has twice matched that number this season with a 4g, 2a day against Virginia and a six-goal game against Cornell. Starting with her six-goal game against the Big Red, she has goals in seven her last eight games -- including three against Loyola and Dartmouth.

Let's Cook!
Jenn Cook is in her first season as head coach of the Tigers and 11th overall on staff at Princeton. The 2007 North Carolina grad takes over for Hall of Famer Chris Sailer after serving 10 seasons as an assistant and associate head coach. During her 10 previous years with the Tigers, Cook has been part of seven Ivy League championships during the eight seasons contest around COVID-19 pauses. She has helped guide the Tigers to eight NCAA appearances in those eight full seasons, reaching the NCAA Quarterfinals three times. A three-time All-American and two-time Tewaaraton Award nominee as a player, Cook was the 2007 Inside Lacrosse Defender of the Year and graduated as the Tar Heel's all-time leader in ground balls (200) and games played (76). Cook's first career win came on February 25 at Temple via a 17-9 victory, and her first career win over a Top-25 opponent was an 18-12 win at No. 14 Rutgers on March 1.

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