DOING BETTER: Princeton University women’s lacrosse player Anna Doherty eludes a foe in recent action. Last Saturday, sophomore Doherty scored three goals but it wasn’t enough as Princeton lost 12-10 to Delaware. After scoring two goals in Princeton’s first seven games, Doherty has tallied seven in the next two outings, scoring four in a 19-7 win over California last Wednesday before the Delaware contest. Princeton, now 7-2 overall and 2-0 Ivy League, plays at Yale (6-5 overall, 1-2 Ivy) on April 4. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

Through the first seven games of the season, Anna Doherty had scored just two goals for the Princeton University women’s lacrosse team.

Then last Wednesday, the sophomore midfielder from nearby Bernardsville fired in four goals to spark a 19-7 win over California.

For Doherty, the scoring outburst was much needed. “I think Wednesday was important for me to get a little more confidence on attack,” said Doherty, who tallied 24 goals in her freshman campaign.

“I think I have been focusing a little bit too much on defense this season. I didn’t really have much confidence on attack so I think that was a big game for me.”

Last Saturday against visiting Delaware, Doherty produced another big game as she scored three goals but it wasn’t enough as the Tigers fell 12-10 to the Blue Hens.

While Doherty was pleased to build on her performance against Cal, it was of little consolation.

“I was happy to get three but in the end it’s about the team and the outcome,” said Doherty. “I just wish we could have put it all together today.”

When Doherty put Princeton ahead 10-9 with her third tally of the day midway through the second half to cap a 3-1 run, it looked like the Tigers might be seizing momentum.

“It was a close pass, she tried to pick it off and didn’t get it and I saw my opportunity,” said Doherty, recalling the tally.

The Tigers, though, never scored again as they dropped to 7-2 overall. “You have to give it to them, they made hard plays and we weren’t at our best,” acknowledged Doherty.

“We just didn’t capitalize on the opportunities that we had and we had a lot of unforced errors and Delaware capitalized on those. We weren’t there mentally today, I think.”

Princeton’s task was made harder in the absence of senior star Erin McMunn, who is currently sidelined with a leg injury.

“It definitely hurts not having McMunn, she is just such a presence on attack, even just her talking,” said Doherty.

“She really leads our attack but we have a lot of other personnel and I think we can definitely make it work.”

In Doherty’s view, the Tigers need to focus on working harder in training.

“I think the focus is executing in practice and really putting that into the games because we know we have the skill,” said Doherty. “We just have to put our best effort out there every time we step onto the field and we didn’t do that today.”

Princeton head coach Chris Sailer acknowledged that it wasn’t her team’s best game.

“I think that was great for us getting up 10-9 but then on our last six possessions we weren’t able to come away with goals,” said Sailer.

“That is a problem. We had turnovers, we had shots that the goalie saved. Meanwhile they had three at the other end; it is hard to pull out a close game that way. Lack of execution was our biggest issue, just individual execution today. It was all over the field.”

Sailer pointed to the draw as an issue for the Tigers. “I think they won by one on draw control (12-11) but we didn’t compete hard enough on the draws, that was also an issue,” said Sailer. “There were stretches where we just didn’t have possession. We really needed it.”

While Princeton was on target with its shooting, it wasn’t aggressive enough in generating opportunities.

We only had 18 shots so 10 goals off of 18 is good but we need more shots than that; we need more possessions than that,” said Sailer. “You have to credit Delaware on that. I thought they came in, they played with a ton of energy, they really went after it.”

Sailer credited Doherty with giving the Tigers a spark. “I think Doe has had a great week, she has really been playing hard, going to the cage hard,” said Sailer.

“She had another three goals today. She had two in seven games and now she has had seven in two games. Getting her on fire is helping us, she had a really good game.”

Looking ahead to the Ivy League stretch drive, Sailer said her players need to play hard at all times. “I think the lesson that you learn is that you have to show up every day, you can’t take anything for granted,” said Sailer, whose team, now ranked 16th nationally and currently 2-0 in league action, plays at Yale (6-5 overall, 1-2 Ivy) on April 4.

“I think you have to come out fired up. We know right now that, except for Maryland, we are in the Ivies from here on out. We have got to play our best. We have to execute better and make better decisions on the field.”

In Doherty’s view, the memory of the Delaware defeat should spur that kind of intensity.

“We are going to remember this game and let it drive us through the rest of the season because this is an awful feeling,” said Doherty. “We don’t want it to happen again.”