ASSISTANCE PROGRAM: Princeton University women’s lacrosse player Sarah Lloyd heads upfield last Sunday in Princeton’s 18-13 win over Southern California. Junior midfielder Lloyd passed for six assists in the victory, tying the program’s single-game record, to trigger Princeton’s most impressive offensive outburst of the young season. The Tigers, now 2-1 overall, open Ivy League play by hosting Brown (3-0 overall, 1-0 Ivy) this Saturday.
(Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

Sarah Lloyd didn’t score a goal but she proved to be a catalyst as the Princeton University women’s lacrosse team topped Southern California 18-13 last Sunday.

The junior midfielder passed for six assists, tying the program’s single-game record, to trigger Princeton’s most impressive offensive outburst of the young season.

Coming off a disappointing 11-6 loss to Georgetown two days earlier, Lloyd and her teammates were primed for a big effort against the Trojans, who are in their first year as a Division I program.

“We were really looking forward to coming out as soon as we could and making an impact,” said Lloyd, who hadn’t scored a point this season until Sunday.

“We didn’t think we played as well as we could have against Georgetown so we were ready for the second chance to prove ourselves.”

The Tigers were ready to go to the net. “We were definitely looking to be more intense and aggressive on the attack and I think we did a good job of that,” said Lloyd, reflecting on the win which improved Princeton to 2-1.

Lloyd’s record day was a product of that aggressiveness and the savvy she has gained over her college career.

“I was just kind of looking to see what opens up,” said Lloyd, who now has 32 goals and 23 assists in her Princeton career and tied the single game assist record established by sophomore Erin McMunn in a game last year.

“We were trying to push transition a lot. I guess the experience definitely helps in seeing the field and knowing what my teammates are going to do.”

With Mary-Kate Sivilli scoring five goals and Anya Gersoff and Erin McMunn both tallying three, Lloyd benefited from some sharpshooting teammates.

“We needed that,” said Lloyd, a 5’7 native of Severna Park, Md., whose spirited play and bright red hair make her stand out on the field.

“In our first couple of games, we haven’t had great shooting games; we did a lot better in that area today.”

Princeton head coach Chris Sailer saw the win over USC as something the Tigers needed.

“I was really pleased with the start we got off to,” said Sailer, whose team jumped out to a 6-2 lead. “Like I told the kids, it’s not perfect yet. There is a long way that we have to go but we made some good strides today and we definitely did compete.”

The Tigers definitely pushed the pace on offense, making run after run straight to the crease.

“It was definitely a focus to be a threat in the transition game; to look for some fast break goals, to look for goals off the secondary options off the break and before we just settled down and got into our sets,” said Sailer, whose team outshot the Trojans 34-23.

“I didn’t realize that she had that many assists; what really stood out about Lloyd today for me was her play on the draw,” said Sailer of Lloyd. who had eight draw controls and three ground balls to go with her six assists on the afternoon.

“She was phenomenal; digging out those ground balls, controlling the draw. Just her fight was really, really impressive. And then to see her line on the assists; I think a lot of those were off transition and I think she worked really hard to get herself in that position, she would win the draw and come down or she would get the ball in transition doing that extra work. She is a smart kid, she saw the open players and was able to give them the ball.”

It was extra special for the Tigers to get two goals from senior star Jaci Gassaway, who is playing through a knee injury.

“That is just so huge, you saw everybody’s reaction,” said Sailer. “It is just such an emotional lift for the team, Jaci is such a great player so anything we can get from her this season, we are happy for.”

Sailer wasn’t as happy about her defense which was shredded by USC freshman star Caroline de Lyra, who scored eight goals.

“We need to be able to figure out the play sooner and make those adjustments,” said Sailer.

“I think if we made those same adjustments in the first half that we were able to make at halftime, it would have been a different story. We did make the adjustments after halftime and took away that option. Number 25 [de Lyra] was just a really smart player for them and she took advantage of our miscues. But we did sort it out and I think our defense plays tough.”

With Princeton starting Ivy League play by hosting Brown (3-0 overall, 1-0 Ivy) this Saturday, Sailer knows that the Tigers need to play smarter.

“We are really excited for the Ivies, I think it is a solid win for us to build on,” asserted Sailer.

“We can play a whole lot better than we did today but it is a big improvement. I think we are definitely moving in the right direction and I think we will have some good energy coming off of this win.”

Lloyd, for her part, believes that Princeton is primed for a good effort against Brown.

“We are going to go into Brown and really look to keep getting better,” said Lloyd.

“We just need to improve a couple of fundamental things, a couple of things in transition and a couple things on defense.”