The Streak is over

It took five years and 36 seniors to build the women’s lacrosse team’s incredible 34-game Ivy League winning streak.

But after an off game against Princeton on an emotional Senior Night, Penn fell two games short of matching Harvard’s Ancient Eight record of 36 consecutive victories.

“What’s really heartbreaking to me is thinking of all the girls before us that have worked so hard to keep the streak alive,” said senior Giulia Giordano, who netted a team-high two goals and added an assist. “Some girls that I’ve played with in the past immediately came to mind, and [it] kind of broke my heart a little bit.”

Princeton’s decisive 11-7 upset victory was especially disappointing because it came as a result of Penn’s carelessness in the final home game in the careers of Giordano and fellow seniors Keely Langdon, Carolyn Pollard, Lily Posner and Bridget Waclawik.

“We were sloppy, our shooting was horrible, our unforced errors have been plaguing us all year and it came to a head tonight,” Penn coach Karin Brower Corbett said. “They were very physical, and I don’t think my kids were tough enough tonight.”

The Quakers committed 11 turnovers in the first half alone and 18 on the game. Despite a decisive 13-7 advantage in draw controls, Penn was unable to sustain composed possession for long stretches.

Corbett cited a lack of focus as the chief culprit on several dropped catches and errant passes, and Princeton also forced several turnovers with aggressive backchecks.

“They get nonchalant about things or they don’t think about that task at hand,” Corbett said. “You’ve gotta catch it before you shoot it, and you’ve gotta catch before you run up the field and you’ve gotta protect your stick. And those are just simple things that these kids all can do.”

The Tigers held junior Erin Brennan — Penn’s leading scorer — without a point on just a single shot. Even so, the deficit stood at just 9-6 after a goal by Waclawik with 21:13 remaining.

The Quakers had a plethora of opportunities on goal over the next 10 minutes, but all of their shots were either off target or found the stick of Princeton goalie Erin Tochihara.

“With all the turnovers that we had and with the shooting not on, it’s really hard to win a game that way,” Giordano said.

Despite a solid effort by the Penn defense — the Tigers committed 13 turnovers of their own and had seven shots stopped by goalkeeper Emily Leitner — the Quakers couldn’t convert consistently on attack. Penn tied the score at five with 8:18 left in the first half, but a 4-0 Princeton run over the next 11 minutes accounted for the final margin.

“Once we were getting down into the 30 [yard-line], we weren’t working our offense, and we weren’t moving it as much,” said Penn sophomore Maddie Poplawski, who added that the attack relied too heavily on hoping for penalty calls by the officials.

Despite the streak’s conclusion, Penn can still clinch a share of the Ivy League title with a victory over Brown Saturday.

With some help, the Quakers will also have a chance to host the Ivy Tournament at Franklin Field. Either way, they will likely have a shot at revenge in a potential second matchup against Princeton.

“We haven’t lost, and this clearly is a fire under everyone,” Poplawski said. “We don’t want to lose. We’re not here to lose.”

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