Penn women's lacrosse falls to Princeton in Ivy League Tournament final, 13-9

In their quest for revenge, the Quakers came up just short in the Big Apple on Sunday.

Falling victim to a seemingly unstoppable offense, Penn women's lacrosse was tripped up in the Ivy League Tournament final by perennial lacrosse powerhouse Princeton by a score of 13-9.

The Red and Blue (12-5, 5-2 Ivy) went toe-to-toe with the top-seeded Tigers (14-3, 6-1) for the first 30 minutes of the contest, trading goals with their New Jersey rivals. Going into the break, the two teams were deadlocked at 6-6.

But as the rain continued to pour down, the flow of the game changed.

Right from the opening draw of the second half, Princeton came out with the trophy in its sights. Three straight goals to kick off the final half hour of play proved to be all the advantage the team needed, as Penn could only muster three goals of its own to the Tigers' total of seven in the final period.

"We struggled today. We didn't clear the ball well, our basic skills didn't go well, and we had some draws in our sticks and we still didn't come up with them," coach Karin Corbett said. "I thought we played better against Princeton the first time we played them, and Princeton deserved to win today."

A trio of Quakers — junior attacker Gabby Rosenzweig, junior midfielder Erin Barry, and sophomore attacker Zoe Belodeau — led the team with two goals each, and Rosenzweig added four assists to her stat line.

After tallying 14 saves against Dartmouth on Friday, junior goalie Mikaila Cheeseman struggled against the Tigers, producing eight saves while allowing 13 goals. She still came up with a number of close-range stops, keeping Penn in the game for as long as possible. 

Every time Cheeseman came up with a save, Princeton would wind up with the ball again and come barreling down the field. Led by the attacking duo of senior Elizabeth George and junior Tess D'Orsi, who combined for eight of the Tigers' 13 goals, the Princeton offense proved too much for the Quakers to handle.

"Our whole game plan was not being executed," Corbett said. "Today was just one of those days as a coach you feel that we're just not clicking and it's not coming together, and it's frustrating that it had to happen in the finals."

Where the Tigers really pressed home their advantage was in free position shots. In Sunday's contest, Princeton scored three times off of eight such shots, compared to Penn's zero from four attempts. Even drawing the foul that leads to one of these shots could produce a momentum swing that turns the game around, and the Tigers used them as an opportunity to take control.

Some Quakers still took home accolades after the game. Barry, Rosenzweig, and senior defender Katy Junior were all named to the Ivy League All-Tournament team for their play in the team's two games this weekend.

"I think the Ivy League is strong and I'm proud of how we played, especially on Friday," Corbett said. "As a program, we had expectations to go further than the finals, so it is disappointing, but I'm happy that the League is as strong and competitive as it is."

Even with the loss, the Red and Blue's season is not over. Their season will continue after being awarded an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, where they will face Georgetown this Friday at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, N.Y. The winner gets a matchup with the No. 5 Orange on their home turf two days later.

On the same day Penn men's lacrosse captured its own Ivy Tournament title, the women couldn't complete the sweep. But not all hope is gone for the team just yet.