May 20, 2015

PU Women’s Lax Falls to Duke in NCAA Quarters, But Loss Doesn’t Dim What Tigers Achieved in 2015

DEVIL OF A TIME: Princeton University women’s lacrosse goalie Ellie DeGarmo guards the cage in recent action. Last Saturday, sophomore DeGarmo made eight saves and picked up three ground balls but it wasn’t enough as Princeton fell 7-3 to third-seeded Duke in the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament. The loss to the Blue Devils left the Tigers with a final record of 16-4.(Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

DEVIL OF A TIME: Princeton University women’s lacrosse goalie Ellie DeGarmo guards the cage in recent action. Last Saturday, sophomore DeGarmo made eight saves and picked up three ground balls but it wasn’t enough as Princeton fell 7-3 to third-seeded Duke in the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament. The loss to the Blue Devils left the Tigers with a final record of 16-4. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

In stifling sixth-seeded Stony Brook 8-4 in the second round of the NCAA tournament earlier this month, the Princeton University women’s lacrosse team produced a superior defensive effort.

Last Saturday, the tables were turned on the Tigers as they fell 7-3 to third-seeded and stingy Duke in a NCAA quarterfinal contest.

Bringing an eight-game winning streak into the game, Princeton was confident that it could keep rolling.

“I think we were excited to play Duke,” said Princeton head coach Chris Sailer. “We were riding a high, we were playing so well. We thought we matched up well with them.”

After taking a 1-0 lead three minutes into the game on a goal by Anya Gersoff, Princeton was blanked for the rest of the half and trailed 3-1 at intermission.

“We struggled to find a rhythm on offense,” said Sailer. “They were playing really good defense and we were not getting great looks, they did a good job of taking (Erin) Slifer and (Erin) McMunn out of the game.”

Picking up where it left off against Stony Brook, Princeton played some good defense of its own as it put the clamps on a Duke team that came into the game averaging 12.9 goals a game.

“We played exceptional defense throughout, they got a goal in the last few seconds so we basically gave up just six goals over most of the game,” said Sailer, who got eight saves from sophomore goalie Ellie DeGarmo with junior defender Liz Bannantine causing three turnovers and getting three ground balls. “I would have thought we would win if we could do that.”

But it was the Duke defense that carried the day, holding Princeton to its lowest output since a 16-3 loss to Virginia in 2006.

“Hats off to them, it is highly unusual for us to just get three goals,” said Sailer, whose team finished the season with a 16-4 record.

“We had opportunities. We had 16 shots but just made three, that is not our normal shooting percentage. They were getting out on our hands, making good slides, and making us rush shots.”

While Princeton was disappointed to get knocked out of the tourney, Sailer is proud of what her team accomplished this spring.

“It is hard to be that close to making the final 4 and feeling that you didn’t play your best game at the end,” said Sailer.

“We had a great season, everyone knows that, everyone appreciates that. It was one of best seasons we have had at Princeton in a decade. We went 7-0 in the Ivy League and won the title outright. We won the Ivy tournament, and made NCAA quarters. We beat the sixth-seeded team. In other years before the bracket was expanded, two wins in the tournament would get you to Final 4.”

With most of the team returning, Sailer sees a lot of wins on the horizon for the Tigers.

“We were predominantly underclassmen, it is a very young team,” noted Sailer.

“Some of the juniors who played were relatively inexperienced. We grew a lot over the course of the season. The future looks bright, we have the whole defensive unit back. Losing Slifer and McMunn from attack is a huge loss, they are No. 1 and No. 2 in program history in assists. (McMunn with 91 and Slifer with 81.) There was a great connection between the two of them. Our offense will change but we have a lot of good players coming back and a great freshman class coming in.”

In Sailer’s view, the team’s Class of 2015 which included Erin Curley, Erika Grabbi, Jess Nelson, and Annie Woehling in addition to McMunn and Slifer, made a great impact that won’t be soon forgotten.

“There were two starters and two who played a lot but the class as a whole was phenomenal, setting an example and giving to the program,” said Sailer.

“They did anything they could to help the team even if it came at their personal expense and cut into their playing time. They handled it the right way, they are leaving a great legacy.”