WAY BETTER: Princeton University women’s lacrosse player Jaci Gassaway fires the ball in recent action. Last Saturday, Gassaway tallied three goals and an assist as Princeton topped Yale 12-4. In upcoming action, Princeton, now 6-4 overall and 3-1 Ivy League, hosts No. 5 Maryland (11-3) on April 11 before playing at Harvard (5-6 overall, 2-2 Ivy) on April 14. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

After the Princeton University women’s lacrosse team lost in overtime to Cornell earlier this month, Jaci Gassaway was down in the dumps.

The junior attacker had ice bags on her left thigh and right shin and was teary-eyed as teammates helped her hobble out of Class of 1952 Stadium two Saturdays ago.

Four days later, Gassaway made a nice recovery, scoring three goals to help Princeton pull out a 14-13 win at Temple on April 4.

Last Saturday, Gassaway was all smiles in the wake of Princeton’s 12-4 victory over Yale, contributing three goals and an assist as the Tigers improved to 6-4 overall and 3-1 in Ivy League play.

A beaming Gassaway liked the way the Tigers stuck to their game plan in pulling away from Yale, taking a 5-1 halftime lead and then scoring the first six goals of the second half to build an 11-1 cushion with 18:50 left in regulation.

“We have really been working on draw controls and keeping possession on offense for longer to give our defense a break,” said Gassaway, a 5’9 junior from Severna Park, Md. who now has a team-high 37 points with 27 goals and 10 assists.

“We did really well with both of those things today so that was a good step in the right direction.”

In Gassaway’s view, the mid-week win over Temple got Princeton headed in the right direction.

“All the games we have had that were one-goal we had lost prior to that so it was a good confidence booster,” said Gassaway. “It was good to pull that one out.”

Against Yale, it took a while before Princeton found a good finishing touch. “Our emphasis was to get longer possessions and work for the 100 percent shots rather than forcing the shots that we usually take,” explained Gassaway, reflecting on the contest which saw Princeton clinging to a 1-0 lead until outscoring Yale 4-1 over the last six minutes of the first half.

“So we thought the first half was good even though we only put up five points. Going into the second half, the goal was to make the shots fall. Their keeper was really good today.”

Gassaway, for her part, got going after the break, scoring two goals in the first 12 minutes of the second half to help trigger the rout.

“I struggled a little bit at the beginning with the shooting but it felt good at the end,” said Gassaway, noting that she and senior midfielder Cassie Pyle look to get the Tigers in a good offensive flow.

After suffering a quad injury in the Cornell loss, Gassaway’s left leg started feeling better in the Yale game.

“It was bothering me a little bit in the Temple game and then our trainer had it all padded so it doesn’t get hit again,” said Gassaway. “It was fine today; it felt good.”

It felt good for Princeton head coach Chris Sailer to see her team produce a lopsided victory.

“The Temple win was big for us; we proved to ourselves that we could win a close game like that,” said Sailer, whose team’s four losses this spring have come by a total of six goals.

“Following that up with this game where we were able to get a good lead and stretch it out, I think it was great for us and our confidence as we head into a tough final stretch ahead of us.”

Although the Tigers had a tough time finding the back of the cage in the first half, they didn’t get flustered.

“It took us a little while to get the scoring going,” noted Sailer, who got three goals from Charlotte Davis with Cassie Pyle and Sam Ellis tallying two apiece and Erin McMunn contributing a goal and two assists.

“We had 17 shots in that first half; sometimes that is all you have in a game. We just weren’t finding a handle; their goalie was making good saves and we were just missing. I was glad that the girls didn’t get nervous and so stressed that they left their game plan. They stayed with it and we were able to break away.”

Princeton is depending more and more on Gassaway to trigger its offensive game.

“Jaci is very consistent,” said Sailer. “We look for her to be a leader on the offense and she is just real solid for us.”

In Sailer’s view, the Tigers produced a solid defensive effort in the win over the Bulldogs.

“Another focus was to play as a team and back each other up and have a lot of good teamwork,” added Sailer.

“I thought we did that all over the field. I liked that we caused more turnovers in our ride than we had in recent games. The ride is one area where everybody is really working together and that went well.”

With Princeton hosting No. 5 Maryland (11-3) on April 11 before playing at Harvard (5-6 overall, 2-2 Ivy) on April 14,  Gassaway believes the Tigers are playing well at the right time.

“Everyone feels like we are in a good place right now,” said Gassaway, “Wednesday is obviously a huge game and then our big focus will be on Harvard over the weekend. I think we can play with Maryland and everyone on the team feels that way. We definitely have something to prove in the Ivy League with Harvard.”