No. 2 Seed Women's Lacrosse Opens Ivy Tournament With No. 3 Penn Friday At Yale

Game 16 – No. 2 Princeton (10-5, 6-1 Ivy) vs. No. 3 Penn (12-3, 5-2 Ivy) | Ivy League Semifinal
May 3 | 4 p.m. | Reese Stadium
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IT'S GONNA BE MAY!
This is the 13th installment of the Ivy League Tournament since 2010 -- missing only the 2020 and 2021 seasons due to Covid-19. Princeton has now qualified for 12 of the 13 ILTs -- no other Ivy team has qualified for more -- and each of the last 10 contested. Princeton's six Ivy League Tournament championships are most of any team and they are tied for the most wins in Ivy Tournament games with 13.

Friday's game marks the seventh time Princeton and Penn have met in the Ivy League Tournament. The record between the two teams in ILT games is as even as it can get. Overall, the two teams are 3-3. In the semifinals, they are 2-2. They have twice met in a championship game and each team is 1-1 in those games. No one playing in this weekend's semifinal has played in a Princeton-Penn Ivy Tournament game -- the last time the two teams met in May was the 2019 title game -- a 13-9 win for the Tigers at Columbia.

HUGHES LEADS ALL-IVY HAUL FOR PRINCETON
Amelia Hughes was named Ivy League Goalkeeper of the Year on Tuesday, leading a group of six Tigers who earned recognition from the Ivy League at the end of the season. The Ivy League Goalkeeper of the Year award has been presented five times now, and a Princeton keeper has won it three times -- Sam Fish (2019, 2022) the other recipient.

Hughes was also named first-team All-Ivy, joined by McKenzie Blake who was named first-team All-Ivy for the second season in a row. Haven Dora, Abigail Roberts and Grace Tauckus each were named second-team All-Ivy as well and Ellie Mueller was honored as Academic All-Ivy.

THE ALL-TIME SERIES WITH PENN
Princeton enters the weekend with a 30-23-3 record all-time against the Quakers, including a 14-9 win in New Jersey this past April. On a soggy night at Sherrerd Field, Princeton broke open a 7-7 game at halftime, scoring seven times in the second half to just a pair of Penn goals. The Quakers held a 41-27 advantage in shots in the game, but Amelia Hughes made 11 saves -- including nine in the second half -- and the Quakers committed 18 turnovers. Haven Dora had a seven-point game for the Tigers, scoring three times and adding four assists. McKenzie Blake had a five-goal game, while Grace Tauckus had three goals and an assist. Abigail Roberts was a nuisance in the midfield, causing three turnovers and picking up a ground ball to go with two draw controls.

TIGERS IN THE NATIONAL POLLS
Princeton sits at No. 16 in the ILWomen/IWLCA national poll and rank in the USA Lacrosse Magazine poll at No. 18. The Tigers are 5-5 against opponents ranked inside the ILWormen/IWLCA Top-25 with games already against teams ranked at the time No. 7 (Penn; 14-9 win), No. 7 (Loyola; 21-11 loss), No. 8 (Maryland; 16-12 loss), No. 13 (Florida; 16-13 loss), No. 16 (Virginia, 14-12 loss), No. 21 (Yale, 11-9 loss), No. 22 (Penn State; 18-13 win), No. 22 (Rutgers; 13-10 win) No. 25 (Harvard; 18-17 win in OT) and No. 25 (Brown; 23-10 win).

PRINCETON & THE RPI
While the focus is squarely on the Ivy League Tournament, there's some attention being paid to where the Tigers sit in the RPI headed into this weekend. Princeton is ranked No. 15, and has a potential for two more big wins when it comes to RPI gains as they play No. 4 Penn in the semifinals and potentially could play No. 8 Yale in the championship game. No other team in the country this weekend has a chance to add two Top-10 RPI wins to its resume in terms of making a late charge to a hosting spot. It's a longshot, but it's Kentucky Derby Weekend and anything can happen.

SLAPPING DOWN A 20-SPOT
The Tigers have scored 20+ goals twice this season, notching 24 at Columbia (4/6) and 23 at Brown (4/13). In its history, Princeton has scored 20+ goals in a game 21 times. The 1981 team did so four times, including a 29-goal outburst against Brown which is the high-water mark for goals in a game. The 2018 team reached 20 goals on three different occasions -- each against an Ivy opponent. No other season has seen more than two games with 20+ goals for the Tigers.

There have been 30 games with 23+ goals by a NCAA Division I team this season, and Princeton is one of seven teams in the country with multiple games with 23+ goals. Mercer has actually reached that number five times.

SHAKE AND BLAKE!
Junior McKenzie Blake has set a new career high with 60 points this season, scoring 56 goals and adding four assists. She has surpassed her previous point totals of 47 (2023) and 46 (2022) from her previous two campaigns. Blake's 56 goals this season are tied for No. 6 all-time by a Tiger alongside Princeton legend Christa Samaras (1998) and she is six away from tying Elizabeth George (2019) for No. 5.

She scored five times at Penn State to reach 100 career points and she enters this weekend with 153 career points on 131 goals and 22 assists to average 3.12 points-per-game over her 49 career games. Against No. 7 Penn, she scored five times to surpass the 100-goal mark for her career and she followed with five more goals at Columbia. All total this season, Blake has 12 games with 3+ goals, 10 games with 4+ goals, and five games with five goals. Over her last seven games, she has scored 32 total goals with four five-goals games and three four-goal games.

For her efforts against the Quakers and Lions, she was named Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week and USA Lacrosse Magazine Player of the Week.

After playing a true two-way game as a first-year with 12 caused turnovers and 34 grounds balls, she focused more on attack and the draw circle last year where she contributed 21 draw controls. She already has set her single-game career high in draws twice this season with seven at Virginia and then eight at Penn State and her 51 draw controls lead the team and are tied for No. 10 in a season all-time by a Tiger.

Blake is the second player in program history to record 50 goals and 50 draw controls in the same season, joining Elizabeth George (62 goals, 88 draw controls) in 2019.

Blake also currently ranks No. 4 in the Ivy League -- and No. 17 in the country -- with 3.64 goals-per-game and is No. 2 in the Ivy League and No. 19 nationally in shots-per-game (7.36).

Her play to date this season had earned her a spot on the Tewaaraton Award Watch List but she was not one of 25 players named a nominee for this season.

HAVEN SENT!
Starting with the stretch run in 2023, Haven Dora has become a key part of Princeton's attack. Dating back to last season, she has 70 points (30g, 30a) over her last 20 games (3.5ppg) with 3+ points in 15 of those games. She had two goals and an assist in wins at Penn State and against Monmouth, and she tallied eight total points in two games during the Florida trip with four points (1g, 3a) one way at Florida and another (3g, 1a) at Jacksonville. She now has 3+ points in 10 consecutive games after tallying seven (3g, 4a) against Penn, adding three assists against Columbia, posting a three-goal, one-assist night at Loyola, racking up six points (2g, 4a) at Brown and posting a career-high eight points (2g, 6a) against Dartmouth. Her six assists against the Big Green tied the program record for assists in a game.

Her 2.36 assists-per-game this season rank No. 5 in the Ivy League and No. 22 in the country and she is No. 5 in the conference and No. 32 nationally in total assists. Her 34 helpers this season are No. 5 in a single year by a Tiger. Her next assist will tie her for No. 3 all-time, she is four away from tying for No. 2 and she is six assists away from tying the program record for assists in a season set by Kyla Sears when she had 40 in 2019.

SAY GRACE!
Grace Tauckus reached the 100-point mark at Penn on April 19 of 2023 and enters this week as the active leading scorer among Princeton players with 164 points. Earlier this season against Yale, she scored her 100th career goal and enters this week with 132 total goals on 188 shots on goal -- scoring on 70% of her SOGs. With 132 goals and 32 assists for 164 points in 55 games, she is averaging 2.98 points per game. Against Monmouth, she had six points (5g, 1a) and now has scored at least one goal in 54 of her 55 career games and scored 2+ in 39 of her 55 appearances. In 2023, she had eight multi-goal games, and she now has nine in 2024. She has two six-point games, those efforts were one off her career high of seven points (4g, 3a) in the 2022 Ivy League Tournament final against Yale. More recently, Tauckus scored five times against Cornell on March 23 -- one goal off her singe-game career high -- had three goals against Penn, four last weekend against Dartmouth and a five-point (4g, 1a) game at Harvard.

Tauckus is on point with her free positions, shooting 17-for-27 so far this season to rank No. 21 in the nation in free position % at .652 and No. 6 in free position goals-per-game at 1.07. Her 48 career free position goals are No. 2 all-time by a Tiger, behind only Kyla Sears who had 75 between 2018-22.

KEEPING TRACK OF KARI
Kari Buonanno is another Tiger with more than 100 career points, entering this week with 139 points over her career on 87 goals and 52 assists. With 50 career games played, she is averaging 2.78 points-per-game for her Princeton career. She has scored at least one goal in 40 of her 50 games she has played as a Tiger, and set a new career highs with 29 goals and 19 assists for 48 points over her 16 games last season. She also set a new single-season best with 44 draw controls. She has 50 points over her last 19 games entering this week, including a five-point (1g, 4a) game against Rutgers, five points (4g, 1a) against Columbia, four points (2g, 2a) against Brown and four points against Maryland (3g, 1a). Against Jacksonville, she had three goals (on three shots) and added five ground balls, two caused turnovers and two draw controls on her way to Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week honors.

MACDONALD'S SERVING UP POINTS
Sophomore attacker Jami MacDonald posted a 42-point first year in 2023, scoring 24 goals and adding 18 assists. Her sophomore season has continued that pace as she is fourth on the Tigers in points through 15 games with 42 (27 goals, 15 assists) and has matched her career high of three assists three different times this season. Overall, she has 2+ goals in nine of Princeton's 15 games, including six in a row before being held scoreless at Loyola. MacDonald had five total goals during Princeton's Florida swing, scoring twice against the Gators and three times at Jacksonville. At Columbia, she had three goals and three assists. She 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.

COMING UP HUGHES
Sophomore 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 15 of her 30 games, and has 12 games with a save percentage of .500 or better. Her high-water mark in saves in a game came in a 19-save performance at Temple in 2023 which earned IWLCA National Defensive Player of the Week honors. Against No. 22 Rutgers, she made 16 saves while allowing 10 goals in the win. Against Penn, she made 11 saves while allowing nine goals.

She has 128 saves in 15 games, which rank No. 1 in the Ivy League and her 8.7 saves-per-game is No. 1 by an Ivy goalie. Her .425 save percentage is No. 4 among Ivy keepers.

Three weeks ago, she was named Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week after totaling 23 saves and a .523 save percentage over Princeton's two games.

HELLO, MEG!
Meg Morrisroe's trip to Brown was a revelation as the rookie broke through with a memorable performance. After tallying six goals over her first nine collegiate games, Morrisroe exploded for eight goals against the Bears -- tying the program record for goals in a game which had been achieved just twice previously and not since 1989. Her efforts earned Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week honors.

Morrisroe's eight goals in a game this season is tied for the fourth most in a game by any player in the country and is the most by any first-year player in the country.

She has 15 goals over her last four games, including a four-goal game at Harvard. She is 7-for-10 on free positions this season, and 7-for-9 dating back to the Brown game.

SOPHIE IS SO GOOD!
Junior Sophie Whiteway is a key cog on the defensive side of the midfield with 144 career draw controls, 32 caused turnovers and 39 ground balls in 49 career games played. She is also capable when called upon in the attacking third with 36 career goals and 44 total points. She was involved as usual in the opener with a goal, an assist, three caused turnovers, three ground balls and a draw control at Virginia. At Penn State, she scored twice and added two ground balls. Against Monmouth, she had eight draw controls and at Jacksonville, she scored once and added four ground balls, a caused turnover and two draw controls.

Last weekend at Harvard, she set a career-high with 11 draw controls which is No. 2 all-time in a game by a Tiger and one off the school record.

Her 144 career draw controls rank No. 5 all-time by a Tiger since the stat was first tracked officially in 1993 and she is eight away from tying for the No. 4 spot.

NOT TOO SHABBY, ABBY!
Abigail Roberts has become a force in the midfield for the Tigers of late. She has 38 draw controls for the Tigers this season, with 34 of them coming over her last nine games -- including a 10-draw control game at Brown on April 13 which she followed up with five DCs against Maryland on April 17. Her 38 total draw controls rank No. 2 on the team, and she leads the Tigers with 15 caused turnovers.

MUELLER TIME!
Ellie Mueller is fourth on the team with 34 draw control wins this season. In 2023, she had tallied 16 points (11g. 5a) in 10 games before suffering a season-ending injury against Columbia. So far this season, she has six points (3g, 3a) in 12 games to go with her 33 draws. Over her 40 career games, she has 46 points (28g, 18a) and 32 ground balls to go with her 65 draw controls.

DEVITO FILLS THE STAT SHEET
Samantha DeVito does a little bit of everything for the Tigers. Last year she tallied 12 points (9g, 3a), 23 draw controls, 15 ground balls and 8 caused turnovers. She has 25 points (19g, 6a) for a new career high while adding 15 draw controls and 15 ground balls so far this season.

KNOW THE NAME NINA
Junior Nina Montes has 58 points in 40 career games, scoring 47 times and adding 11 assists. She can score in bunches, last season she had four games with 3+ goals, but totaled just four over her other 11 appearances. She returned at Florida after missing four games with injury and found her form in her second game back with a hat trick against Jacksonville. At Columbia, she had a three-point game with two goals and an assist. At Loyola, she had two goals.

FRESH FACES
The rookie class has made some immediate impacts over their first collegiate games. Ella Sloan came off the bench with two goals at Penn State in the fourth quarter and now has five goals and six total points this season, while Meg Morrisroe has appeared in 13 games and scored 21 goals. Colette Quinn has played in all 15 games so far off the bench in the midfield and has five goals.

LET'S COOK!
Jenn Cook is in her second season as head coach of the Tigers and 12th overall on staff at Princeton. The 2007 North Carolina grad took 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. She now has six wins over ranked opponents in her career.

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