With one minute left in the first half it seemed as if an upset was brewing.
The women's lacrosse team (12-3 overall, 5-1 Ivy League) had scored back-to-back goals in a 40 second span to bring the Tigers back within two goals at 6-4.
Maryland (16-1, 2-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) made sure that burst of hope was short lived, however, as Terrapin midfielder Quinn Carney calmly flipped the ball to cutting attack Allison Comito for a quick goal with 14 seconds left on the clock.
Off the faceoff after Comito's goal, junior midfielder Julie Shaner took the ball downfield on a fast break and fired an open shot just over the top of the net as time expired.
Princeton would not regain the momentum for the rest of the evening and Maryland cruised to a 14-6 win last night at Princeton Stadium.
"I think if we had answered there it would have been a big momentum builder," head coach Chris Sailer said. "But with us not scoring it turned into a two-goal turnaround at the end of the half."
The Tigers never really seemed to be able to handle the intense pressure of the Terrapins — who forced 19 turnovers during the game and made the usually simple task of getting the ball into the offensive zone a chore.
On the other side of the ball, Maryland seemed to be able to fast break at will, as every pass seemed to lead a Terrapin into open territory with an eye on the Princeton goal.
"They've played together for so long. It's amazing how well they know how to play with each other," Shaner said. "And their fast break is just deadly."
While the Tigers' defense played a strong game against a Maryland squad that leads the nation in scoring, the offense never seemed able to get free to get good shots off on the Maryland net.
Three of the four starting attacks for the Tigers were shut out, and the fourth — sophomore Charlotte Kenworthy — was kept to a single goal. The Terrapins used a swarming defense to keep the Princeton attack from getting close to keeper Alex Kahoe, and on the occasions that the Princeton attack did get inside, it either missed the net or fired shots right into Kahoe.
"Where we didn't come through was the attack end," Sailer said. "We had 27 shots and we only got six goals. We had a number of good opportunities, but we didn't force [Kahoe] to make any good saves."
The gutsy play of both senior midfielder Hilary Maddox and Shaner was a bright spot for the Tigers. Maddox — who was playing her final regular-season home game for Princeton — had two goals for the Tigers and prevented the Maryland faceoff advantage. While Maddox provided steady play in the midfield, Shaner provided a spark with three spectacular goals on the evening. The junior never seemed to run out of energy — even with the unenviable task of breaking Maryland's pressing defense.
"Shaner was inspiring tonight," Sailer said. "She was all over the place making big play after big play for us."
The game served as a benchmark for the postseason. If the Tigers are to advance deep into the NCAA Tournament and have any chance of taking home their first title since 1994, they will have to step up and play with the best.
"Everyone measures themselves against Maryland," Shaner said. "So we're going to look at tape of this game and use it as a measuring stick to see what we have to do to become National Champions."
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