After welcoming back many of its top scorers and garnering a strong recruiting class, Princeton Women’s Lacrosse is gearing up for an exciting 2025 season and is going to face some tough competition in their 15-game regular season. Last year, the Tigers advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament, losing to the eventual national champion and 2025’s top-seeded Boston College. In the regular season, the Tigers finished 11–7 overall and 6–1 in Ivy League play, losing only to Yale in their first conference game of the season, falling 11–9.
The Tigers opened the season ranked 17th in the first week of the IWLCA poll, making them the third-highest ranked Ivy League team behind Yale (No. 9) and Penn (No. 12). In 2024, they did not crack the 25-team preseason list but received votes that placed them on the long list. However, they debuted in the IWLCA rankings during week three of last year at No. 23 after defeating Penn State in University Park.
This Class of 2028 hosts four of the Inside Lacrosse Women’s Power-100 Incoming Players, boosting hopes for the Tigers’ season. First-years Elizabeth Gonnella (34th) and Zoe Bye (40th) will join the Tigers on the goalkeeping and defense teams, respectively. First-year midfielders Maggie Bacigalupo and Cassandra Kitchen also scored spots on the honorable mentions list.
The Tigers will also return three of its top four scorers from last season. Senior attacker and captain McKenzie Blake leads the attack, coming off a stellar season with 67 goals and 63 draw controls, ending last season with a tie as the top scorer in the league.
Blake, along with junior attacker Haven Dora, were both placed on the Tewaaraton Award Watch List. The list hosts the top 40 college players, only five of which hail from the Ivy League. Dora, who cemented herself as a key part of the Princeton offense last season, spent the summer with the USA U-20 team, who took home a gold medal in the World Championships. Junior attacker Jami Macdonald, who represented Canada, faced off against Team USA in the championship game and scored three goals. The two Tigers finished the tournament as the No. 7 and No. 8 U-20 players at the World Championship, respectively.
The Tigers will be led this year by their three senior captains: Blake, midfielder Sarah Nelson, and defender Sam Whiting. Nelson suffered an injury and missed the 2024 season, but in January helped the Philippines win a bronze medal in the Asia-Pacific Women’s Lacrosse Championship. Whiting, who fought with the Tigers to win their most recent Ivy League Championship, will command the Princeton defense. The team is led by Head Coach Jenn Cook, who is entering her third year as the team’s figurehead.
The squad will face the University of Virginia (No. 8) this Saturday, February 15. Virginia, who will travel north to visit the Tigers at Sherrerd Field, took down an unranked Liberty 20–5 last Friday. Princeton opened their last season with a face-off against the Cavaliers in Charlottesville, where they fell 14–12. The Tigers have faced Virginia 42 times over the years, with Virginia leading the series 23–19. The 2025 season is shaping up to be filled with exciting play both in and out of the conference.
Evelyn Walsh is a senior Sports writer for the ‘Prince.’
Please direct any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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