Women's Lacrosse: Gassaway scores 6 goals in 18-8 rout

Getting out to an early lead, Princeton (2-2 overall, 1-0 Ivy league) entered halftime ahead by six. In the second half, the Bears (2-2, 1-1) brought the score within five goals but could not make the game competitive. A powerful four-goal finish in the final four minutes of the game propelled Princeton to its first conference win of the season. Eight different players recorded goals for the Tigers, continuing their tradition of a balanced attack.

“We did a lot of things well,” head coach Chris Sailer said. “We had a strong start, getting ahead by four right away. We executed our offensive plays, scoring on all of our man-up opportunities. We got no yellow cards and were more controlled defensively ... We also executed end-of-game situations well, maintaining possession and getting goals.”

Grabbing the first draw control, Princeton immediately dictated the possession and speed of the game. Within two minutes, junior attacker Jaci Gassaway connected with senior midfielder Cassie Pyle, who converted for the first goal by either team. After again coming up with the draw, the Tigers were given another opportunity on the attack. The ball switched possession twice before junior midfielder Charlotte Davis found the back of the net to put her team ahead by two.

A Brown yellow card gave the Tigers a man-up advantage, which they capitalized on at 22 minutes, 47 seconds as senior attacker Barb Previ netted the team’s third goal. A trend already this season is a well-balanced attack by Princeton, making it hard for its opponents to focus on any one particularly dangerous offensive threat.

The Tigers tallied three more unanswered goals before Brown managed another shot past the Princeton defense. Freshman attacker Erin McMunn assisted Pyle on her second goal of the game, and just 20 seconds later, sophomore attacker Mary-Kate Sivilli added another. The sixth goal in the opening streak came from McMunn.

Brown finally got on the board at 13:35 after being held scoreless for nearly 17 minutes. But the Tigers responded with three more quick goals to open up their lead even further. McMunn recorded her second assist when she fed junior attacker Sam Ellis. Soon after, Gassaway — the team’s leading scorer with 21 points so far this season — put her first of six goals past the keeper at 10:44. Sivilli and Gassaway continued to support Princeton’s attack, as they connected for the team’s ninth and final goal of the first half.

Before halftime, Brown added two goals to send the teams to the sidelines with the hosts trailing 9-3.

Continuing to shoot well this season, the Tigers got 18 shots off in the first period, converting half of those attempts. Princeton dedicated time during practice last week to winning the draw after struggling in the circle in its last two games. The results paid off, and the Tigers were able to control nearly 70 percent of the draws in the first half.

“We work on the draw every week; it is a big focus of ours,” Sailer said. “We had a great first half on the circle but need to work on our consistency from half to half. We battled better and got to the ball first, so they were fouling us instead of the other way around.”

Brown came out of halftime with a spark of hope and fought to bring the score within five goals, the closest margin of the second half. After Pyle assisted Gassaway on her second goal of the afternoon, the Bears found the net twice in a row, but it did not take long for Princeton to respond.

Pyle and Gassaway continued to lead the visitors’ attack. Pyle’s third goal of the game was unassisted, and the Tigers converted another man advantage, as Sivilli found Gassaway to put a 12-5 score on the board. Gassaway added another goal a minute later, this time unassisted.

“[Pyle and Gassaway] took the opportunities they had, made smart drives and cuts and are both good shooters,” Sailer said. “They set each other up, and their teammates helped set them up. The rest of the team was moving off ball to create space and make good feeds.”

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Three of the next four goals came from Brown, which fought to close the gap one goal at a time. The hosts converted at 15:08, preceding a seven-minute stretch of play without a goal, though there were shots taken by both squads. Sophomore midfielder Sarah Lloyd was the next player to record a goal for Princeton, with an assist on the play to freshman midfielder Erin Slifer.

Brown scored twice in a row, getting the second after a failed Princeton clear, but a final surge by Princeton saw four more goals widen the margin of victory. Ellis assisted Pyle on her fourth goal of the game to start the momentum. Lloyd and McMunn each connected with Gassaway, who recoded back-to-back goals. With only one second remaining in the game, Ellis got the ball over the goal line just in time for her second goal of the day.

“The defense looked good,” Sailer said. “We were a little injured, with our captain [junior] Caroline Rehfuss out with a concussion from the Duke game and [senior] Lindsey deButts playing on a strained MCL ... We had a few breakdowns, but overall it was a solid defensive effort.”

Freshman goalie Annie Woehling stopped five of Brown’s 13 shots on goal.

The Tigers earned their first conference win and will not face another Ivy League opponent until March 21, when they travel to Columbia. On Saturday, Princeton will host No. 11 Virginia, another tough non-conference rival, as the team fights to bring its record back above .500.

“It feels great. We were geared up and excited for the first Ivy game, and it was a great start,” Sailer said. “We’re pleased with our overall performance.”