PRINCETON--The Princeton women's lacrosse team got its offense going in its home opener Wednesday night, a big win against Rutgers. The Tigers will likely need that same kind of effort when third-ranked and undefeated Duke comes calling Saturday.

Junior Christine Casaceli led nine Princeton goal scorers with a career-high four goals as the Tigers took an 8-2 lead at half and never led by fewer than five goals in the second half of a 16-8 win over the Scarlet Knights at Class of 1952 Stadium. Senior Ashley Amo added two goals and three assists for the Tigers (2-0), who scored three times in the final five minutes of the first half to pull away.

"We really wanted to work on having our goals come with assists and I think we did that tonight," said Amo. "Duke is a very good offensive team, so we need to be able to do the same thing Saturday and really value our possessions."

Princeton outshot Rutgers 20-6 in the decisive first half but didn't really pull away until the final minutes. With her team ahead 5-2, Amo made two nice passes from her usual spot behind the net, the first to freshman LIzzy Drumm with 5:10 left and the second to sophomore Kristin Morrison with 1:38 left, to help the Tigers to a 7-2 lead.

Casaceli then gave Princeton a six-goal advantage at halftime on an unusual play. Her free-position shot in the final seconds was saved by Rutgers goalie Sandra Abel, but the rebound slithered off Abel just enough for Casaceli to bat the ball into the goal with her stick as time expired.

"We really needed to get the offense going tonight," said Princeton head coach Chris Sailer. "Saturday (against Johns Hopkins) we really had a great defensive effort but gave it away too much when we got the ball. Tonight we got some of both and some real nice play in goal as well."

Rutgers (0-4), which has now played two Top 10 opponents, got three goals from freshman Marlena Welch and two goals and two assists from Mary Cryan. The Scarlet Knights scored three straight goals midway through the second half to cut their deficit to 13-8 before Princeton responded with three goals of its own.

Princeton split goalies and got six second-half saves from freshman Erin Tochihara, including a pair in quick succession right after halftime. Rutgers goalie Abel had 10 saves as the Tigers outshot her team 31-21.

Casaceli scored three of her four goals in the first half for Princeton. The Tigers scored four straight in a seven-minute span midway through the half to turn a tie game into a 5-1 advantage with 10 minutes left.

Morrison had two goals off the bench for Princeton, while Kristin Schwab had three goals and an assist. Katie Cox, Holly McGarvie, Caroline Markowitz and Kaitlin Donovan also scored for the Tigers, who improved to 11-1-1 all-time against Rutgers.

Duke, ranked third in both polls, visits Princeton Stadium for a 3:30 p.m. game Saturday afternoon. The Blue Devils, who have defeated the Tigers in each of the past two years, are 5-0 entering that game.

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PRINCETON, N.J. (March 5, 2008) – The Rutgers women's lacrosse team fell to No. 7 ranked Princeton 16-8 on Wednesday night at the Class of 1952 Stadium in Princeton, N.J. Freshman Marley Welsh (Jarretsville, Md.) finished with three goals for her first career hat trick for the Scarlet Knights (0-4), while Christine Casaceli led Princeton (2-0) with four goals.

"It just comes down to our youth," said head coach Laura Brand. "We're making strides every game. I was really proud with how we came out in the second half. We really stepped up and played hard and we never gave up. I think we need to take the positives out of the game and recognize that Princeton is a very good program. We are trying to put ourselves against the best so that we get better and better with every game. Our play in the second half tonight gives us a lot of confidence going into this weekend."

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2008-03-06