The No. 17-ranked Princeton women’s lacrosse team (8–5 overall, 4–1 Ivy League) fell to the No. 8 ranked Maryland Terrapins (12–4, 4–2 Big Ten) on Wednesday night at home at Sherrerd Field.
Shortly after the sound of the first whistle, Maryland was on the scoreboard. Attacker Hannah Leubecker scored her 42nd goal of the season for the Terrapins, giving Maryland the early lead.
Princeton responded a minute later when Princeton senior attacker Grace Tauckus responded with an unassisted goal to even the score at 1–1.
With 12 minutes left in the quarter, junior attacker McKenzie Blake drew a yellow card, giving Maryland a one-player advantage. Capitalizing on this opportunity, the Terrapins netted their second goal of the game, regaining the lead 2–1.
Maryland was not the only team to benefit from a foul early on, though. Princeton senior midfielder Kari Buonanno tied the game 2–2 off of a free position shot.
The back and forth scoring continued. The Terrapins responded two minutes later to lead 3–2, but less than a minute later, senior midfielder Samantha DeVito tied the game yet again.
The Terrapins tried to blow open the game, scoring back-to-back goals to lead 5–3 with four minutes left in the first period. The Tigers would not be silenced, though. The Princeton offense responded with goals from sophomore attacker Jami MacDonald and Tauckus, sending the game into the second quarter tied at five goals each.
0:20 (1Q) Keep calm and give the rock to Tauckus!
— Princeton Women's Lax (@princetonwlax) April 17, 2024
Grace drives through the defensive and gets this one past the goalie pic.twitter.com/ZnJek6TtHW
Princeton took their first lead of the game with Buonanno’s second goal off of a free position shot. The Tigers extended their lead to 7–5 with a goal from Blake, assisted by Buonanno, while the Tigers were playing man-down defense. Unfortunately, two goals would be the largest lead of the night, and one short-lived for the home team.
The Terrapins would not be silenced, scoring three straight goals to reclaim the lead at 8–7, never to trail again.
To end the half, Blake netted her third goal of the game assisted by Tauckus. The match went into the break tied at 8–8.
In the third quarter, the Terrapins showed why they are a top-ten team in the nation. Princeton began the half with a handful of offensive opportunities but were stifled by a strong defensive front and crucial saves by Maryland goalkeeper Emily Sterling, holding the Tigers scoreless. Maryland then scored six straight goals in the quarter, accumulating a convincing lead of 14–8. The Tigers could not seem to find an answer.
“We needed to realize what was working and what was not for us sooner,” sophomore attacker Haven Dora told the ‘Prince.’
The Terrapins then opened the final quarter with another quick goal, extending their lead to 15–8.
Sophomore goalkeeper Amelia Hughes made three strong saves to prevent Maryland from advancing further. With seven minutes left in the game, first-year attacker Meg Morrisroe, fresh off an eight-goal performance against Brown, netted Princeton's first goal of the half, assisted by Dora. The Tigers trailed 15–9.
Two minutes later, Buonanno scored, making the score 15–10. Shortly after, the Terrapins beat Hughes for their last goal of the game, now leading 16–10.
The Tigers went on to score twice to end the match, both scored and assisted by Blake and Dora, respectively. The final score landed at 16–12 Maryland.
The Tigers’ next game will be played this Saturday at home against Dartmouth at noon, where they look to find their stride again as the postseason looms just a couple weeks away.
“We are excited to play against Dartmouth this weekend to come back from our loss on Wednesday, we will continue to show others how great of a team we are,” Dora concluded.
Lily Pampolina is a Sports contributor and contributing Audience creator for the ‘Prince.’
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