No. 1 in Jersey: W. lax tops Rutgers

PISCATAWAY — When the final horn blew, it was hard to tell who had won the women's lacrosse game Sunday at Rutgers.

In the battle for New Jersey prominence, all of the players had their heads hanging a little low. Rutgers players seemed down because they ended up on the short side of a 9-7 contest, and Princeton because the Tigers had almost let a 9-3 second-half lead get away.

The No. 9 Tigers almost seemed to slide into cruise control after jumping out to a 4-0 lead in the first half. After Rutgers came storming back to get within one at 4-3, Princeton (1-0) turned on the juice again to give itself a 9-3 lead. The No. 11 Scarlet Knights, however, did not give up and got the score to 9-7 before time ran out.

"Our fast starts in each of the halves was what won it for us today," head coach Chris Sailer said. "Other than that, we didn't play as well as we did in our scrimmage last week."

Princeton dominated in the early going. Senior midfielder Hilary Maddox scored the Tigers' first goal on a fast break pass from junior midfielder Julie Shaner. The fast break was started on an outlet pass after one of senior goalie Laura Field's 17 saves.

Casablanca

Sophomore midfielder Lauren Simone was Princeton's offensive star on the day, tallying four goals and two assists in a game in which the usual suspects were shut down.

"Lauren Simone really hurt us today," Rutgers head coach Anna Marie Vesco said. "We were keying on Shaner and (sophomore attack Kim) Smith, who usually have better numbers, but Simone had a great game."

While Shaner's one goal and one assist were not up to her usual standards, she was still one of the most important players for Princeton on the afternoon, picking up a number of ground balls and running the offensive system.

Shaner's experience helped spur the younger Tigers early in the game as sophomore midfielder Mimi Hammerburg scored Princeton's second goal on an assist from Simone that was set up after Shaner's rush.

"It was nice to get some flow in the offense at least for the early part of the game," Simone said. "We just have to be able to keep up the intensity."

Rutgers' All-America midfielder Liz Chambers led the Knights with four goals and an assist. While the Tigers' defensive corps had some trouble controlling Chambers, its new pressure defensive scheme kept Rutgers from getting enough good shots on Field.

"I'm not all that happy with the game, but it is a win," Sailer said.

Get the best of ‘the Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

While the Tigers will have to play 60 minutes of solid lacrosse on a consistent basis to make a run at the national championship, the dominant 30 minutes they played Sunday was good enough to win the Battle of New Jersey.

The Tigers are back in action next Sunday at Loyola.