Skip to content
College Sports

Princeton takes Ivy women's lacrosse crown

After missing the NCAA women's lacrosse tournament last season for the first time since 1997, Princeton is back in the field after holding off Harvard, 12-10, Sunday afternoon in the championship at Franklin Field to capture the Ivy League's automatic bid.

Princeton's Cassie Pyle picks up a loose ball from Harvard's Danielle Tetreault in the first period. (Ron Tarver/Staff Photographer)
Princeton's Cassie Pyle picks up a loose ball from Harvard's Danielle Tetreault in the first period. (Ron Tarver/Staff Photographer)Read more
    by Matt Breen, Inquirer Staff Writer
    Published 

After missing the NCAA women's lacrosse tournament last season for the first time since 1997, Princeton is back in the field after holding off Harvard, 12-10, Sunday afternoon in the championship at Franklin Field to capture the Ivy League's automatic bid.

The Tigers entered the four-team Ivy tourney as the lowest seed but will enter the NCAA tournament as winners of five of their last six games. They will play eighth-seeded James Madison (15-3) in the first round on Saturday in Harrisonburg, Va.

Charlotte Davis scored the go-ahead goal for the Tigers as she went to her right on a free position goal to take an 11-10 lead with 9 minutes, 24 seconds remaining.

The sophomore midfielder was awarded the free position after being knocked to the ground after receiving a pass in front of the net. The goal was her second in a 94-second span; she had tied the game at 11:00.

"What was going through my mind was just to tuck my stick and run as fast as I could toward the goal," Davis said.

The high-powered Princeton offense jumped on the board early, digging the Crimson into a five-goal hole with 16 minutes, 33 seconds left in the first half behind two goals from senior attack Lizzy Drumm. The Crimson clawed back in the second half and took a 10-9 lead with 11:16 left.

Danielle Tetreault scored a game-high four goals for the Crimson, including three times in the second half. The sophomore midfielder added an assist and captured a team-high three draw controls.

After scoring five goals in Friday night's semifinal win over Penn, Jaci Gassaway scored three times on Sunday and was named the tournament's outstanding player.

Erin Tochihara finished with nine saves for the Tigers, none bigger then her save with 8:44 left in the second half as she stoned Jess Halpern on a streaking shot from the right flank. The senior was named the tournament's outstanding goalie.

"She's a phenomenal goalie," said Chris Sailer, who has coached at Princeton since 1987. "Nine saves in the championship game, we'll take that."