CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--The Princeton women's lacrosse team put up another big number against Harvard Saturday afternoon at Harvard Stadium, outscoring the Crimson 11-3 in the second half on the way to an 18-9 victory that leaves the Tigers 10-0 overall and 4-0 in league play heading into a showdown with Penn Wednesday.

Princeton was in a tight game Saturday until exploding for a seven-goal run in the second half that turned a 9-8 nailbiter early in the half into a 16-8 lead late in the game.

The Tigers also got a big contribution during that stretch from freshman goalie Erin Tochihara, who entered the game 5:44 into the second half and had four saves, including one on Lauren Bobzin eight minutes into the half with Princeton ahead just 10-8.

Ashley Amo, who had a career-high six points on the day (four goals, two assists), started the Tiger run with a goal 7:24 into the second half. Three minutes later, Holly McGarvie, who had four goals and four assists, forced a Harvard foul and scored on an eight-meter shot to make it 11-8 Princeton.

The Tigers would win the next draw control and Lizzy Drumm, who scored a team-high five goals, ended a flurry with a goal that made it 12-8 12 minutes into the half. After Princeton fended off an eight-meter attempt by the Crimson (7-5, 1-3 Ivy), Christine Casaceli scored on the other end of the field to make it 13-8 Tigers and force a Harvard timeout.

Harvard would have a pair of chances to end the Princeton run after the timeout, but Tochihara first had a save on Jess Halpern and then one on Tara Schoen's eight-meter attempt. Meanwhile, Drumm's goal, thanks to a pass from Amo, gave the Tigers an insurmountable eight-goal lead with six minutes left.

Casaceli added three goals for Princeton, which scored on 18 of its 31 shots and outshot Harvard 18-9 in the decisive second half. Princeton, which defeated Harvard for the 16th straight time, has averaged nearly 18 goals per game against the Crimson in the last five seasons.

Halpern led Harvard with three goals on the day. The Crimson scored eight times in the first 36 minutes of the game but were limited to just one goal in the final 24 minutes by the Tiger defense.

The Crimson got off to a hot start, scoring twice in the first 2:28 of the game to take the lead, but Princeton then had a three-goal run after that. Caroline Simmons' goal with eight minutes left in the first half gave the Crimson the lead again at 6-5, but Princeton's Amo scored on a nice play with nine seconds left on the clock to give the Tigers a 7-6 halftime lead and Princeton never trailed after that.

Score by Period       1  2  Tot
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Princeton...........  7 11 - 18
Harvard.............  6  3 -  9
 
Attendance: 260
 
Princeton SCORING:
GOALS: Drumm, Lizzie 5; McGarvie, Holly 4; Amo, Ashley 4;
       Casaceli, Christine 3; Markowitz, Caroline 1; Murray, Anne 1.
ASSISTS: McGarvie, Holly 4; Amo, Ashley 2; Murray, Alison 2; Drumm, Lizzie 1.
 
Harvard SCORING:
GOALS: Halpern, Jess 3; Curtis, Natalie 2; Martin, Kaitlin 1;
       Simmons, Caroline 1; Bobzin, Lauren 1; Bancroft, Sarah 1.
ASSISTS: Flood, Sara 1; Martin, Kaitlin 1.
 
SHOTS BY PERIOD       1  2  Tot
-------------------------------
Princeton........... 13 18 - 31
Harvard............. 12  9 - 21
 
GROUND BALLS BY PRD   1  2  Tot
-------------------------------
Princeton...........  8  8 - 16
Harvard.............  4  5 -  9
 
DRAW CONTROLS BY PRD  1  2  Tot
-------------------------------
Princeton...........  8  8 - 16
Harvard.............  6  7 - 13
 
CLEARS BY PERIOD       1     2     Total
----------------------------------------
Princeton...........  4-6   8-10 - 12-16
Harvard.............  6-7   4-7  - 10-14
 
FREE-POSITION SHOTS    1     2     Total
----------------------------------------
Princeton...........  0-2   2-3  -  2-5
Harvard.............  0-3   1-4  -  1-7
 
SAVES BY PERIOD       1  2  Tot
-------------------------------
Princeton...........  5  4 -  9
Harvard.............  4  6 - 10
 
FOULS BY PERIOD       1  2  Tot
-------------------------------
Princeton...........  5  9 - 14
Harvard.............  5  8 - 13
 
TURNOVERS BY PRD      1  2  Tot
-------------------------------
Princeton...........  6  6 - 12
Harvard.............  4  9 - 13

2008-04-12