Women's Lacrosse: Tigers advance to NCAA quarters, 11-10

The women's lacrosse team upset No. 8-seed James Madison on the road on Saturday afternoon in the first round of the NCAA tournament, holding on in an exciting final minute for an 11-10 victory. The Tigers advance to the quarterfinal round next Saturday, when they will face No. 1 Maryland, which defeated Navy 19-6 in the opening round.

The Tigers (12-6) qualified for the national championship playoff by winning the Ivy League Tournament, while the Dukes (15-4) won the Colonial Athletic Association tournament to earn their place in the NCAAs. When the two teams met in the regular season, the Tigers fell behind early on and were never able to come back, dropping the game 10-5.

This time, however, it was the Orange and Black who got out to an early lead, scoring the first four goals of the game. Senior attack Maisie Devine netted the first goal of the game off an assist from sophomore midfielder Charlotte Davis, and less than a minute later, freshman midfielder Sarah Lloyd connected with senior attack Lizzy Drumm to extend the Tigers' early lead.

The Dukes struggled to set up their offense due to frequent turnovers. Princeton capitalized on one of these turnovers, transitioning down the field with a fast break that senior defender Caroline Markowitz finished with a goal, forcing JMU to call timeout five minutes into the game.

The hosts had not yet found an answer for their dynamic opponent, however, as Princeton earned its fourth consecutive goal. Senior goalie Erin Tochihara cleared the ball to begin another fast transition. Sophomore midfielder Caroline Rehfuss fed Lloyd, who finished low to the opposite-stick-side, bringing the score to 4-0.

After ten minutes without a goal, James Madison rallied to tie the game at four. The first two goals by the Dukes came back-to-back, cutting the Tiger lead in half. The hosts began winning more of the draws, earning them more offensive opportunities. A one-time finish followed by a split double-team and goal by James Madison attack Ariel Lane pulled the Dukes back even late in the half.

Fourteen minutes elapsed between the Tigers' fourth and fifth scores of the game. Sophomore attack Sam Ellis passed to Davis who scored, ending the Dukes' four-goal run and gave the Tigers a slim lead. Five different team members scored the first five Princeton goals.

James Madison midfielder Ashley Kiminer, who finished with a hat trick, bounced the ball past Tochihara to even the score for the second time. Then, the Dukes scored twice in a 10-second span to take a two-goal lead, their only lead of the day.

But the Tigers fought back before halftime. Sophomore attack Jaci Gassaway sent the ball to Davis, who scored less than a minute after the Dukes' second goal. And with only four seconds remaining in the half, Davis tallied her third goal of the game on a long-range shot, tying the game at 7-7 heading into the locker rooms. Davis was the Tigers' leading scorer on Saturday, notching three goals and one assist.

At the beginning of the second half, the Tigers retook the lead with a goal scored by junior midfielder Cassie Pyle, and added a second score when Pyle connected with Gassaway on a free-position set.

James Madison cut the lead to one with a free-position score of its own, but it would be the only goal the hosts would score in the first 23 minutes of the second period. Pyle blasted an eight-meter shot past Dukes goalie Alex Menghetti and Gassaway found Drumm in front of the goal after running from behind the cage after a JMU timeout, extending the lead to 11-8.

The hosts fought back in the final minutes. Lane faked Tochihara high and buried the ball low to cut the lead to two, and after two free-position attempts were unsuccessful, Lane converted a third to bring the Dukes within one goal at the three-minute mark.

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James Madison won the draw and earned two more possessions in the final minutes, but two saves by Tochihara in the final minutes saved the game for the Tigers, who advanced to the quarterfinal round.

The Tigers last faced the Terrapins (19-1) four weeks ago, losing 17-10 on the road. Maryland 's only loss this season came in double overtime against Dartmouth, showing the No. 1 seeded team's vulnerability, but the defending national champions will be the prohibitive favorites.