Crucial game in Jersey for w. lax

By YDNImporter
Friday, April 4, 2008

After dropping its Ivy opener to Penn last year, the 2007 women’s lacrosse team rebounded with tenacity, beating every other team in the Ivy League and riding a nine-game winning streak to a second-place finish in the Ivy League and a bid to the NCAA Tournament. This weekend, history could repeat itself.

The No. 13 Bulldogs (8-3, 2-1 Ivy) hit the road tomorrow to take on No. 2 Princeton (8-0, 2-0), arguably the toughest team on their schedule this season. After losing to Penn for the second year in a row during a brief skid in March, the Elis have rattled off four straight wins and are poised to close out the current season in a similar fashion to the last — that is, if they can overcome the undefeated Tigers first.

“This game is a huge factor in the rest of our Ivy season and whether or not we make it to the Tournament,” attacker Meredith Callahan ’08 said. “There are a ton of different emotions involved. After losing to Penn, this is our chance to redeem ourselves.”

Last year, the Elis erased a 4-0 deficit to win a 6-5 buzzer-beater in New Haven, upsetting the perennial powerhouse in dramatic fashion. But Princeton enters tomorrow’s game with an unblemished record and hungry for revenge. The Tigers also boast a home-field advantage this time around: The Bulldogs have not won a game at Princeton in 20 years, although they are 13-19-2 overall against the Tigers.

Both teams have put up impressive results so far this season. The Bulldogs have nearly tripled their opponents’ goal output in their recent four-game winning streak, while the Tigers have put away twice as many goals as their foes over their entire campaign. Princeton is ranked fourth in scoring defense in the country, and Yale is sixth.

Opening faceoff is at 2 p.m. tomorrow.

Comments