NEW HAVEN, Conn--Yale's Lauren Taylor scored with 10 seconds left in regulation to break a 5-5 tie and goalie Ellen Cameron stopped a shot by Princeton's Kathleen Miller as time expired to give the Bulldogs a come-from-behind 6-5 victory over the Tigers in an Ivy League women's lacrosse game played Saturday afternoon at Johnson Field.

Taylor's goal was her nation-leading 49th of the season and came after the Bulldogs (10-3, 3-1 Ivy) stalled away much of the final five minutes on the way to a final shot attempt.

Princeton (4-4, 1-1 Ivy) would call timeout after Taylor's goal and win the ensuing draw control to get a chance to tie, but Cameron stopped Miller's shot and time expired on Yale's first win over the Tigers since the 2003 season.

The Tigers led the game 4-0 midway through the first half, getting a goal from Ashley Amo just 14 seconds after the opening draw and then three goals in a 1:01 span later in the half, the final one coming from Holly McGarvie with 12:56 on the clock. But Princeton would score just once in the final 42:56 of the game, a Katie Lewis-Lamonica goal midway through the second half that gave the Tigers their final lead at 5-4.

Yale got back into the game with three goals in the final eight minutes of the first half, the final one coming with 2:16 on the clock from Lara Melniker that cut her team's deficit to 4-3 at halftime. The Bulldogs would tie the game three minutes into the second half on a goal by Taylor, her first of the game after a scorelss first half.

After Princeton's Lewis-Lamonica scored to put her team back ahead, Yale tied the game with 12:28 left on a goal by Meredith Callahan.

Yale outshot Princeton 28-18, but the Tigers got a season-best 12 saves from freshman goalie Kaitlyn Perrelle, including seven in the second half and two on free-position opportunities.

Cameron had 10 saves for Yale, which is the only other Ivy team besides Dartmouth to defeat Princeton in the last 14 seasons. The Tigers are now 74-2 against the six other Ivy schools besides Dartmouth since the beginning of the 1994 season.

Princeton returns home to face Temple Wednesday night at Class of 1952 Stadium (7:00 p.m.) before hosting Harvard in the first game of a women's-men's doubleheader against the Crimson Saturday.

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The script could not have been written in a more dramatic fashion. Needing a win to keep itself in contention for the Ivy League championship and an NCAA tournament berth, No. 15 Yale fell behind 4-0 to No. 9 Princeton, the team that has won or shared five of the last six Ancient Eight titles. Then, the Bulldogs clamped down defensively and chipped away at the lead. After some unsung heroes helped tie the game at five, the Bulldogs got the ball to their leading scorer, junior midfielder Lauren Taylor, for the go-ahead goal with 10.4 seconds left. Finally, junior goalkeeper Ellen Cameron made a spectacular save as time expired to seal an emotional 6-5 win Saturday afternoon at Johnson Field.

That Princeton run to open the game included a goal by Ashley Amo just 14 seconds in. But Cameron also made two huge stops early on to keep things from getting out of hand. Two minutes in Christine Casaceli’s spin move in front left her wide open from point-blank range, but Cameron was able to make the save. Six minutes later Casaceli had another golden chance in the critical scoring area denied by Cameron’s quick reflexes.

The game reached an early turning point when Princeton’s Katie Lewis-Lamonica received a yellow card and was sent to the sideline for three minutes, giving Taylor a free-position attempt. But Tigers goalie Kaitlyn Perrelle made the save, one of 12 stops on the day for her, and the Tigers survived the stretch without their top scorer unscathed.

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2007-04-07