Women's Lacrosse: Mid-game rally propels hosts to rout

The Bulldogs (3-7, 0-4) have yet to win an Ivy League game this season. Princeton is currently in third place in the league behind Penn and Dartmouth, teams that the Tigers will face off against in the upcoming two weeks.

“It was huge for us to get this win,” freshman attacker Erin McMunn said. “Any Ivy game is always a big game for us, so we were all really excited to get back on the field and just really show what Tiger lacrosse can do. We’re in total control of our postseason run, and that’s exactly where we want to be. We believe this team is going to do great things, and we’re just so excited for the chance to show everyone what we know we can do.”

Princeton started strong, netting the first goal fewer than eight minutes into the game. Junior attacker Jaci Gassaway assisted senior midfielder Cassie Pyle in her first score of the day. Over 16 minutes ticked off the clock before either team would find the back of the net again.

In the final six minutes of the half, the Tigers outscored the Bulldogs 4-1 to send the teams off the field with Princeton ahead by four goals. Junior midfielder Charlotte Davis, who earned her second consecutive hat trick, converted for her first unassisted goal. A free-position shot by junior attacker Sam Ellis put the Tigers ahead by three, and she then assisted Gassaway with just under three minutes to go.

Yale got on the scoreboard at 1:24 when Caroline Crow fired for her first of three goals, but McMunn finished for Princeton just before the horn. The Tigers outshot Yale 17-9 in the first half.

“We have been focusing a lot in the past few days on really controlling the pace of the game, so I think a lot of that slower start was just from us really focusing, as a team, on lengthening those possessions,” McMunn said. “I think that that mentality on our part led to a slow start for Yale because we did have the ball so much the first half.”

The Tigers came out of the locker room with an explosive start to the second half on both ends of the field, netting six goals in 12 minutes while holding Yale scoreless.

Pyle and Gassaway combined again on the attack, with Gassaway grabbing Pyle’s pass close to goal and sending it past the goalie. McMunn, who currently leads the team in assists, tallied another helper from across the crease when she fed sophomore midfielder Sarah Lloyd, who finished on the weak-side pipe.

The Tigers’ next goal was set up at the top of the eight-meter arc. A flip pass to Gassaway sent her charging into the net, but her shot was saved. Davis waited by the crease, scooped up the ground ball and added a goal to put Princeton ahead 8-1. Davis’ third goal of the afternoon came two minutes later as she drove in unassisted and sent a high shot into the net.

Princeton continued to dominate play all over the field. Pyle and Gassaway each converted on free-position opportunities, giving the Tigers a 10-goal advantage and sending the game into running time.

Yale struggled to get the ball past freshman goalkeeper Annie Woehling, who was credited with seven saves, four ground balls and a draw control. Crow, the Bulldogs’ go-to scorer, added her second goal with fewer than 10 minutes to play, but Princeton quickly responded when McMunn fed Ellis, who was curling around the crease.

The final five minutes of the game gave Yale the opportunity to add two more goals, but it was not enough to prevent the Tigers from earning their third conference win of the season. Yale struggled defensively, clearing successfully on only nine of 16 chances and receiving 21 fouls, while Princeton won two of every three draws.

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“I think one thing that we did especially well today was just controlling the ball and playing the game we wanted to play,” McMunn said. “We really stepped up big on the draws today, and that allowed us to have the possessions we needed to control the game. That feeling of confidence and control all over the field has been something we were really working on, and I think we did a great job with that today.”

Wednesday night, Princeton will take on No. 3 Maryland, last year’s national runner-up, on the Tigers’ home turf at 7 p.m.

Last year, the two teams faced off twice, with Maryland defeating Princeton 17-10 in the regular season and again 15-6 in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament.

“This was such a total and complete team win today, and I think that’s great for our confidence,” McMunn said. “We executed all over the field and played such a complete game. This is a great team win to carry with us into Wednesday.”