HOME COOKING: Princeton University women’s lacrosse player Kyla Sears heads to goal last Saturday against a Temple defender. Senior star Sears tallied six goals and two assists to help Princeton post a 14-10 win over the Owls. Sears was later named the Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week. It marked the first home game for the Tigers since February 22, 2020 as that season was halted due to the global pandemic and the 2021 campaign was canceled due to ongoing COVID-19 concerns. No. 20 Princeton, now 2-0, hosts Cornell (2-1) on March 5 in the Ivy League opener for both teams. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

Kyla Sears hit some high notes as the Princeton University women’s lacrosse team hosted Temple last Saturday for its first home game in more than two years.

Before the contest started, senior attacker Sears took the mic and belted out a spirited rendition of the national anthem. Minutes later, she proceeded to score Princeton’s first goal of the afternoon.

“We are so happy to be back, I think it was just a great feeling to see all of our parents back and playing on this field,” said Sears, reflecting on the first game at Class of 1952 Stadium for the Tigers since February 22, 2020 as that season was halted due to the global pandemic and the 2021 campaign was canceled due to ongoing COVID-19 concerns.

“The football team was here, the video board was exciting. There were a lot of nerves but mostly it was excitement to be back, Singing on this field, I only have seven of these left so that is great.”

With Sears getting a goal 4:30 into the first quarter, that tally helped get the Princeton attack going in a back-and-forth first half that saw the Tigers up 10-8 at intermission.

“It was nice, just good to get momentum rolling,” said Sears, who had three goals in the half with sophomore Grace Tauckus chipping in four.

“It was a game of runs and we knew Temple was going to be a really great opponent. We knew that they were going to come hard. Our whole mantra today was this is our house and we want to protect our field.”

After a sluggish third quarter which saw it go scoreless, Princeton was clinging to a 10-9 lead heading into the final 15 minutes of regulation. The Owls scored to knot the contest and then Sears took matters into her hands, scoring two straight goals and assisting on another as the Tigers pulled away to 14-10 win and improved to 2-0.

“There was lot of adrenaline; their defense was amazing,” said Sears, a 5’4 native of Skaneateles, N.Y., reflecting on the fourth quarter surge which gave her six goals and two assists on the afternoon and later earned her Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week honors.

“Once we got the ball moving a bit more and got our sticks a little broken in, it was just a lot better and it opened up for us. Our offense as a whole is getting in a rhythm. We play the best when we are moving it around and unselfish. We got the nerves out.”

Sears is getting in rhythm with sophomore standout Tauckus.

“I love playing with Grace, she is one of the best I have played with,” said Sears. “I think she is going to have a huge career for this place. I love being on the right side with her.”

With a number of sophomores and freshmen in the Princeton starting lineup, outlasting the Owls was a vital step forward.

“We are very young so every game, our first home game, our first away game is a new experience,” said Sears. “It is just to get more games under these girls’ belts. I think they are going to break out this season and we are going to have a really nice attack unit.”

The battle-tested Sears, who now has 147 goals and 70 assists in 46 career appearances, is looking to impart some wisdom to the younger Tigers.

“I have had a good career with the attackers I have had around me and how much I have learned,” said Sears, pointing to such former Princeton standouts as Tess D’Orsi, Elizabeth George, and Colby Chanenchuk.

“There are a ton of people who have taught me so much. I just want to return the favor and give everything I have learned over the past years to this real young unit. They are going to do some great things over the next couple of years.”

The Tigers are looking to some great things this spring for Hall of Fame head coach Chris Sailer, who announced before the season that this would be her final campaign guiding the Tigers.

“We are in agreement that we want to send her off with the year that she deserves,” said Sears.

“That is just one more motivating factor that we need after coming back after two years and for her last year. It is a lot of buildup, and we are really excited.”

Sailer, for her part, was excited to be back on the sidelines at Class of 1952 Stadium.

“It is great to be able to play on your home field in front of your home fans,” said Sailer. “We had a ton of energy going into last week’s game (a 17-11 win at Virginia), but it is always special to play here. I am trying to savor every game and soak it all in and try and help the team win as many games as we can.”

Sailer knew that getting a win against Temple was going to be a tough task.

“Temple is a top 20 team, they were 3-0 on the year,” said Sailer of the Owls who got three goals in the loss from former Princeton High star Abaigeal Ryan.

“Last year they won a game in the NCAAs. We knew that they were scrappy and aggressive. They have some solid middies. Their draw kid is really good. We knew we would have to play well. It was a dog fight.”

Senior goalie Sam Fish was really good in the third quarter, making five saves to hold off Temple as the Tigers went scoreless in the period.

“Sam had a tough first half; she really turned it around in the second half and that made a huge difference,” said Sailer of Fish, who ended the day with nine stops.

“She made big saves and we didn’t score any goals in the third quarter and that could have really hurt us. They had a lot of possession, they had a lot of draws. If she hadn’t been making those saves, it could have been a different story.”

Sears made the difference for the Tigers down the stretch.

“Kyla is a special kid; when the game is on the line, she is going to step up any way she can,” said Sailer. “She did that today. You could see what a special player she was.”

The Tigers will need Sears to keep stepping up as the young squad gains experience.

“We are very young on attack, other than Kyla,” said Sailer. “In the offensive unit, no one has played more than five games before the season. We have to figure it out and know how to take control and do what we know how to do and not lose our heads.”

The experience of overcoming Temple figures to help Princeton down the road.

“It wasn’t pretty, but winning ugly beats the alternative,” said Sailer. “I have coached enough years to know that you will take the win. To be able to win this game playing like we did. I thought that was just really big. It could have gone either way at the end of the third and then we got some separation in the fourth which was great. We were able to hold on.”

With No. 20 Princeton hosting Cornell (2-1) on March 5 in its Ivy League opener and first league game since beating Columbia 19-7 on February 29, 2020, the Tigers will need a big effort to defeat the Big Red.

“It is going to be another battle, every Ivy team going to be coming after us,” said Sailer. “We are going to have to execute better than we did today. They present a lot of different challenges, they play some different defenses. We are going to have our work cut out for us with our preparation but we are confident in our group. We will be excited to get the Ivy season underway.”

Sears, for her part, is savoring every battle this season. “That is going to be another electric atmosphere; both teams are going to be excited to be back out, it is going to be a lot of fun,” said Sears.

“We are very grateful to be back, we are not taking anything for granted. We are just happy to be here. It is just fun, we are excited to be playing with each other again. We just have a lot of joy to be back.”