The Tigers continue to roll.
After a preseason ranking of No. 17, Princeton women’s lacrosse (11–1 overall, 4–0 Ivy League) has won 11 games in a row and is now ranked fifth in the country. This is Princeton’s highest poll ranking since they were also ranked No. 5 at the close of the 2017 season.
“It is special to see everyone’s hard work pay off,” junior attacker Haven Dora told The Daily Princetonian. “Every single person comes to practice every day and pushes those around them.”
On a rainy Saturday afternoon at Sherrerd Field, it was the Columbia Lions (4–9, 0–5) who fell victim to the Tigers’ hot streak. After an even first quarter, the Tigers dominated the rest of the way en route to a 17–6 win.
After winning the initial face-off, the Lions ripped away six consecutive shots and took a 1–0 lead. Less than a minute later, junior attacker Kendall Dean tied the game with her second goal of the year. After the first quarter, the score was tied as the Lions looked to get their first win in program history versus the Tigers.
Princeton quickly killed the Lions’ dreams with a commanding 10–1 run that extended through the middle of the third quarter. During this run, the Tigers kept the Lions scoreless for nearly 18 minutes. Dora scored three goals in the second quarter to pace the Tigers’ attack.
“The defense and offense feed off of each other,” Dora told the ‘Prince.’ “The defense is super communicative, and everyone has each other’s backs. They work to create momentum for the offense to go down, score, and capitalize on the turnover they started.”
Dora is having a career year and was named on the Tewaaraton Award Watch List earlier this year. Earlier this year, Dora broke the program’s single-season record for assists and is averaging 5.2 points per game, good for 18th in the nation.
Senior star attacker Blake also added two goals in the second period to take her 2025 goal tally to 60. Blake has 202 career goals and is seven goals away from tying Kyla Sears ’22 for the top spot in the record books. In Inside Lacrosse’s latest watch list for the Tewaaraton award, Blake was ranked fifth.
Senior midfielder Sophie Whiteway capped off the 10–1 run with just under seven minutes remaining in the third quarter.
The Tigers scored four straight to open the final quarter, including two goals from senior attacker Nina Montes to cap off the 17–6 win. The Tigers’ eleventh consecutive win ties the program’s fourth-longest win streak.
In the win, the Tigers boasted 11 different scorers.
“Having 11 different players score makes it that much harder to guard us,” Dora told the ‘Prince.’ “It speaks to the unselfishness of our team.”
Next up for the Tigers will be a tough test against the No. 16 Penn Quakers (6–5, 2–2). The game will be nationally televised tomorrow night at 8 p.m. on ESPNU.
Despite their record, the Tigers cannot underestimate the Quakers, who came into the season as the second favorite to win the Ivy League. The Orange and Black will also look to avenge last season’s 18–14 loss to Penn in the Ivy League tournament semifinals.
Penn is coming off a heartbreaking double overtime loss to No. 6 Yale and will look to bounce back with a signature win against Princeton. The Tigers — on the other hand — are one of six teams remaining in the country undefeated on the road and will look to continue that Wednesday night.
“The prep we do this week in practice will give us the confidence we need to compete against a tough Penn team,” Dora told the ‘Prince.’ “We need to stay locked in and trust the game plan that’s been making us successful.”
Hayk Yengibaryan is an associate News editor, senior Sports writer, and education director for the ‘Prince.’ He is from Glendale, Calif.
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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