For the Princeton women's lacrosse team, there will be better days. Wednesday night at Class of 1952 Stadium, the Tigers fell victim to a Penn team that has experienced plenty of great days the last two seasons.

The sixth-ranked Quakers scored five consecutive goals in the first 10 minutes of the second half to break open a close game on the way to a 9-5 victory over second-ranked Princeton, handing the Tigers their first loss of the season and clinching an NCAA tournament berth in the process.

Penn (11-1, 6-0 Ivy) not only clinched at least a share of the Ivy League title and the league's NCAA bid for the second year in a row but also won at Princeton for the first time since 1986. The Quakers also became the first Ivy League team other than Dartmouth to win in Princeton since the 1991 season.

The Tigers (10-1, 4-1 Ivy), who also saw a 12-game home field winning streak come to an end, host rival Dartmouth on Saturday with a chance to start a new winning streak.

"It will be a character test for us," said Princeton head coach Chris Sailer. "We have to come right back here and have a better effort all around in just a few days because there's still a lot of season left."

Penn, which defeated the TIgers for the second straight season, dominated possession throughout the game, especially in the first half when the Quakers won four of the five draw controls. Meanwhile, Penn goalie Sarah Waxman made sure her team kept the lead when the Tigers did get possession, stopping eight of Princeton's 18 shot attempts, including five in the second half.

Leading 3-1 at halftime, the Quakers made their decisive run right away in the second half. Rachel Manson drew a foul and scored on a free position shot 2:27 into the half, and Manson then scored again on a strange rebound less than a minute later to make it 5-1. A little more than a minute later, Ali DeLuca made a nice catch of a pass from behind the net and scored, giving Penn a 6-1 led 4:42 into the half and forcing a Princeton timeout and a goalie change.

Giulia Giordano would score twice for Penn in a 1:22 span after than to make it 8-1 before the Tigers ended a scoreless streak of nearly 30 minutes when Christine Casaceli scored with 16 minutes to go in the game.

"The defense really had a nice effort but they ended up having to play way too much defense," said Princeton senior attacker Ashley Amo. "We didn't help them out enough with our offense."

Amo's goal midway through the first half tied a tense game at 1-1, but Princeton wouldn't score again for 29:43. Meanwhile, DeLuca made a run down the middle to put Penn ahead for good at 2-1 with 12:33 left in the first half, and she then assisted on a huge goal for Melissa Lehman with a minute left in the half that gave Penn a two-goal halftime lead.

Princeton got within 8-3 after Katie Cox scored with 14 minutes left, but DeLuca scored after a Penn timeout to make it 9-3 and the Quakers would possess the ball without shooting for much of the game's final minutes.

DeLuca had three goals and two assists for Penn, which has now won 22 of its last 23 regular-season games. Casaceli had a goal and both of Princeton's assists.

* * * *

PRINCETON, N.J.--The No. 6 women's lacrosse team downed its rival and No. 2-ranked Princeton, 9-5 to clinch a share of the Ivy League title. The laundry list of feats the Quakers accomplished in the game starts with handing Princeton its first loss of the season. The Tigers fell to 10-1 while the Red and Blue extended their win streak to nine games and improved to 11-1.

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2008-04-16