PRINCETON--Both Princeton and Virginia had plenty of chances to break open a tie game in the final 10 minutes of the second half Saturday afternoon at Class of 1952 Stadium. The Tigers' Christine Casaceli took advantage of a final chance just in the nick of time.

Casaceli's goal with 2.7 seconds left, thanks to a feed from behind the net from freshman Lizzy Drumm, gave the No. 4 Tigers a thrilling 8-7 win over the second-ranked Cavaliers and kept Princeton unbeaten (6-0) heading into its Ivy League season that begins next weekend against Cornell.

In a wild back-and-forth final 10 minutes filled with transition and key defensive plays by both teams, Princeton looked like it had squandered its final opportunity in regulation with a turnover in the final 15 seconds. But Virginia (6-2) was called for offsides, giving the Tigers possession, and Drumm had enough time to find Casaceli in front of the cage.

"I saw Lizzy behind the net, one person cleared away in front and I saw an opening," said Casaceli, who had 11 goals entering the game but hadn't scored Saturday until the game winner. "She threw a great pass and I was open for a good shot. It feels great to be 6-0 heading into our league season."

Virginia tied the game at 7-7 with 11:03 left when Blair Weymouth scored her third goal of the game, but neither team scored until the game winner. There were only three shots in that time before Casaceli's goal as the teams traded turnovers.

With three minutes left, Princeton goalie Kaitlyn Perrelle saved Kaitlin Duff's shot, then made a key interception of Duff's pass from behind the net to give the Tigers possession. A minute later, the Tigers' Katie Lewis-Lamonica drove down the left side looking for the go-ahead goal, but Virginia goalie Kendall McBrearty had the stop to keep the game tied.

The Cavaliers then looked to hold for the final opportunity of regulation, but Lewis-Lamonica stripped Brittany Kalkstein out front and scooped up the ground ball. She looked to have turned the ball over once in the offensive zone, but the Cavaliers had too many players inside their restraining area and the Tigers were awarded the ball with 10.3 seconds on the clock.

Casaceli's game winner made her the seventh Princeton player to score a goal in Princeton's first regular-season win over Virginia since 2004.

"I don't think we're a team this year that's dependent on one player," said Princeton head coach Chris Sailer. "Seven players scoring and four players with assists is an example of why we've been able to be successful to this point."

The Tigers looked like they were on their way to a big win early in the game, scoring three times in the first 2:42 of the first half before the Cavaliers gained possession of the ball. Drumm scored one minute into the game thanks to a feed from behind the net from Ashley Amo, and Katie Cox drove the net 1:03 later to make it 2-0. Lewis-Lamonica then made a similar move just 39 seconds after that to make it 3-0 Princeton.

But the Cavaliers quickly responded once they began winning draw controls, getting goals from Megan O'Malley and Kalkstein in a 1:24 span to cut their deficit to e-2. Virginia tied the game at 3-3 with 8:39 left in the half when Weymouth scored her first goal of the game.

Princeton would take a 5-3 lead with 3:38 on the first-half clock when Drumm took another feed from Amo, but UVa scored a big goal with seven seconds left in the first half to make it 5-4 at halftime, taking advantage of a Tiger turnover and a transition opportunity that was finished by Kaitlin Swagart.

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2008-03-22