Mimi Hammerberg was nervous and rushing and stood all alone last Sunday, cradling the ball and caught in the spotlight. The sophomore midfielder, suddenly an attacker, swung her stick forward and shot the ball straight at No. 9 Loyola's goalkeeper, who casually scooped it in. The women's lacrosse team ended up losing the game by one goal, 6-5.
It was the game the Tigers (3-1) — who dropped from No. 8 to No. 9 after the loss — were supposed to win in a grueling week that included No. 2 Duke (2-2) and No. 6 Georgetown (4-1). It ended up being the only game they didn't.
Leading 10-7 against Duke Wednesday, Hammer-berg found herself scrambling in the same situation. Junior Julie Shaner fired a pass to Hammerberg as she darted down the field, all alone, with just the goalie in front of her. "Oh my God," Hammerberg thought. It was happening again.
So she stopped, calmed down, faked one way and shot the other. Score.
It would prove to be the winning goal, as the Tigers stunned the Blue Devils, 11-10. Three days later, they sprinted past the Hoyas, 8-6, capping a topsy-turvy week in which every game was an upset.
'Hallelujah'
"I was like 'Hallelujah,' " Hammerberg, who raised her hands in the air when she scored, said. "In the Loyola game, I lost my confidence a little. It was quite a release when I scored. It fired everyone up because people were aware I was upset over my mistake. It fired me up."
But Princeton would spend the rest of the game putting out fires. After Hammerberg's goal, Duke sliced the lead to 11-10 with one minute, 45 seconds left. Two saves by senior Laura Field in the final minute sealed the victory.
"I don't think Duke knew what hit them," sophomore attack Kim Smith, who scored five goals in the game, said. "Everyone on the field was such a threat that Duke was overwhelmed with how intense every single person was."
Duke appeared flustered by Princeton's pressure defense, unable to penetrate and unsure what to do. Several times, Blue Devils craned their heads toward the sidelines, soliciting advice from their scrambling coaches. Duke flirted with a brief lead, 7-6, with 22:38 to play. But the Blue Devils could not hold on against an inspired Princeton team.
Out of the gates
Princeton had leaped out to a 3-0 lead with 17:12 left in the first half. Duke hastened to tie the score at three, and the teams traded goals, entering halftime with the Tigers clinging to a 5-4 lead.
Twenty-eight seconds into the second half, Duke knotted the game at 5-5. But after the Blue Devils grabbed the lead, the Tigers snatched it right back and scored five straight goals, including three by Smith.
Princeton would not relinquish the lead again, despite a furious last minute Blue Devil push.
"After losing the game we should have won, everyone came into practice with a great attitude of wanting to win and working so hard," sophomore Charlotte Kenworthy, who scored the first goal against Duke, said. "Winning that just gave us so much confidence — knowing that we could do it without Cristi [Samaras '99], Lucy [Small '99], or any of the other seniors who graduated."
But, she said, if the Duke game hinted at greater possibilities for the upcoming season, "the Georgetown game sealed it for us."
Last year, Georgetown humiliated the Tigers, roaring out to a 10-1 lead at halftime and finishing the Tigers off in a grisly 10-4 debacle.
Kenworthy and senior co-captains Hilary Maddox and Molly Hall gathered together before Saturday's re-match and shoved in the game tape. They watched as the Hoyas glided in for easy goals, scoring again and again on a shoddy, stumbling defense unable to adjust to the Hoyas' slick trick play between their two top scorers, where one would slip back door for an easy flip into the goal.
"It was pretty embarrassing," Kenworthy said. "It was so frustrating, but exciting to try and think about our game coming up and not let them do it to us again. We were saying, 'I can't believe they did that to us!' 'We're going to stop that.' 'Change that.' "
And then, their final, furious conclusion: " 'Let's just kill them today.' "
There would be no butchery like a year ago. But there would be a victory, clean and crisp behind a hat trick by Shaner.
End of week. Two victories. They were just not the ones the Tigers expected.
Read More
Women’s ice hockey now boasts winning record following triumphant week
Alex Beverton-SmithLast week, Princeton women’s ice hockey powered themselves to a three game win streak with victories over No. 13 Boston University and two against Stonehill.
Last week, Princeton women’s ice hockey powered themselves to a three game win streak with victories over No. 13 Boston University and two against Stonehill.
Men’s ice hockey sweeps No. 12 Ohio State
Hayk Yengibaryan and Ava SeigelThe weekend marks the first time in program history the Tigers have bested the Buckeyes, breaking a six-game losing streak aging back to 1971.
The weekend marks the first time in program history the Tigers have bested the Buckeyes, breaking a six-game losing streak aging back to 1971.
Staff Picks: Men’s basketball at Saint Joseph’s
JP Ohl, Ryan Kirby, Zachary Meisel, and Lily PampolinaAfter a disappointing performance at the Myrtle Beach Invitational, men’s basketball heads to Philadelphia to take on St Joseph’s in a tough non-conference game for the Tigers.
After a disappointing performance at the Myrtle Beach Invitational, men’s basketball heads to Philadelphia to take on St Joseph’s in a tough non-conference game for the Tigers.
