PRINCETON, N.J. – The No. 7 University of Pennsylvania women's lacrosse team saw its 11-game Ivy League win streak come to an end on Wednesday night, as archrival Princeton outscored the Quakers 7-2 in the second half and took a 14-9 decision at Sherrerd Field.
Penn never trailed in the first half and held a two-goal lead three separate times. However, Princeton scored a last-second goal to tie things at the break, then scored the first two goals of the second half and never looked back.
Penn fell to 8-2 overall on the season while Princeton—which entered the game ranked 18th in the IWLCA poll—improved to 5-4. Both teams are now 2-1 in Ivy play.
Quaker Notemeal
*Penn allowed 14 goals on the night, by far the most the Quakers have given up this season (previous high 10 by Johns Hopkins on February 24).
*Penn lost despite outshooting Princeton, 41-27, and winning the draw control battle, 16-10.
*Junior
Anna Brandt scored three goals to lead the Penn attack and had six draw controls, three ground balls and two caused turnovers.
*Senior
Niki Miles was the only other multi-goal scorer for the Quakers on Wednesday, with two goals as well as an assist. She also led all players with seven draw controls.
*Penn's other goal scorers on Wednesday night were
Catherine Berkery,
Erika Chung,
Julia Chai, and
Keeley Block.
*Berkery and
Kaitlyn Cumiskey had Penn's other assists in the game.
*McKenzie Blake led Princeton with five goals while Haven Dora finished the night with seven points (3g/4a). Grace Tauckus also had three goals while Jami MacDonald scored twice. At the other end, Amelia Hughes had 11 saves for the Tigers.
How It Happened
Penn got on the board less than two minutes into Wednesday night's game,
Natasha Gorriaran intercepting Hughes' outlet pass and feeding Miles who in turn fed Chung on the doorstep for a 1-0 lead. Princeton tied it up less than two minutes later, but Penn went in front 3-1 when Miles got around her defender and found a space between the Tiger and the crease, then Berkery found Chai on the doorstep in an extra-player situation. Princeton drew level before the end of the quarter, however, and it was 3-3 after one.
Miles scored on the free position 3:21 into the second, and then Block rocketed home a lefty shot to push Penn in front, 5-3. However, the Tigers again clawed their way back to tie things at 5-5. Once again, Penn went in front by two—Cumiskey found Berkery who turned on a one-timer in transition, then Brandt beat her defender to the middle of the fan for the 7-5 lead. Princeton once again responded; the Tigers scored late in the shot clock to make it 7-6 with 2:43 left, then went almost all the way down the field in the final 20 seconds of the period and scored just before the halftime horn. That tied things at the break, 7-7.
Princeton's first lead came 1:13 into the third, a Penn turnover on the clear turning into a Tigers breakaway and goal. The hosts doubled their lead a little more than two minutes later, but Brandt ended a nearly 13-minute Quakers scoring drought when she shot once…twice…and then a third time to convert and make the score 9-8 with 7:40 left. However, Princeton scored the only goal in the remainder of the period and took a 10-8 lead into the fourth.
The Tigers needed just 35 seconds to go in front by three, converting a free-position shot, before Brandt scored another unassisted goal to make it 11-9 with 11:38 to play. That would be all the offense the Quakers could muster the rest of the night, unfortunately, and Princeton's patient offense paid off as they scored the last three goals over a seven-minute span to put this one away.
Up Next
The Quakers are back on the road on Sunday, playing at No. 16 Yale in a game that will air nationally on ESPNU.
For the latest on Penn women's lacrosse, follow @PennWomensLax on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram, and on the web at PennAthletics.com.
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