SEVEN UP: Princeton University women’s lacrosse player Haven Dora, left, looks to unload the ball against Hofstra last Saturday. Junior attacker Dora dished out a program-record seven assists for a second straight game as the Tigers rolled to a 20-4 win over the Pride. No. 13 Princeton, now 3-1, hosts Penn State on March 5 and Harvard on March 8 in its Ivy League opener. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

Haven Dora wears No. 7 for the Princeton University women’s lacrosse team and last week that number took on an added significance for the junior attacker.

On Wednesday, Dora tallied a program single-game record seven assists to help Princeton edge Delaware 15-14. Three days later, Dora matched that feat, getting seven assists as the Tigers rolled to a 20-4 victory over Hofstra in improving to 3-1.

“I am really proud of that,” said Dora, reflecting on the record.“Every single game, I am trying to come out with a team win and if that is what it takes, I am going to keep assisting my teammate. Hopefully at some point. I can break it and get eight. I am looking forward to the rest of the season.”

In the win over Hofstra, Dora dished out six assists by halftime as 13th-ranked Princeton jumped out to 13-2 lead.

“Our offense steps up well for me to find those cutters so from behind the cage I can pretty much see all of the cutters,” said Dora. “I really wouldn’t be able to have assists without my teammates finishing the ball so it is a team thing.”

While McKenzie Blake and Jami MacDonald have been the go-to finishers for Princeton this year, a number of other players got into the act against Hofstra as Meg Morrisroe tallied four goals with Maggie Molnar, Sophie Whiteway, Nina Montes, and Grace Mulham scoring two apiece.

“We were able to open up some of the other girls which was great to just give us some more balanced offense,” said Dora, who also tallied a goal in the contest to go with her seven assists. “That is something really good heading into the rest of the season.”

Rolling to a blow-out win after starting the season with three nail-biters, the Tigers got to empty the bench against the Pride.

“It was really fun to see everyone get on the field,” said Dora. “Everyone comes to practice and works hard every single day so just to see that was really something special for the whole team.”

Over the years, Dora has worked hard to fine-tune her playmaking.

“I think just playing a bunch of team sports really allows me to work with people and work off of people,” said Dora, a 5’3 native of Spring Lake who also played basketball and ran cross county in high school at Trinity Hall. “I think that is one of my strengths, just being able to work with my teammates. It is something I have been working on since a young age.”

Last summer, Dora strengthened her game by playing for Team USA in the U20 World Lacrosse Championships and starring as the Americans won a gold medal.

“It was a really good team with a lot of strong girls who are competitive and play at some of the best schools,” said Dora. “It helped me elevate my game just so I can come into this season just learning from them and bringing those things to this team that those coaches taught me. It is lot of really good experience that I think has been helping me so far this season.”

Forming a connection with senior attacker Blake has helped spark the Tiger offense.

“She is an awesome finisher, she really just sees the game well,” said Dora of Blake, who has tallied a team-high 17 goals so far this season. “We work a lot outside of practice, just talking about the things that we see in our units and against the other teams. That really helps us on the field. We are really good friends which helps, we have a good connection. It really makes a difference.”

With Princeton hosting Penn State on March 5, Dora and the Tigers will be looking to extend their three-game winning streak.

“Penn State is always a competitive game for us,” said Dora. “They are really hardworking girls so I think it is going to be a dogfight the entire time. We may be ranked above them but I don’t think that makes it any easier so I am excited for Wednesday.”

Princeton head coach Jenn Cook was excited by how her squad built on its strong start against Hofstra.

“I think Wednesday’s game was really just a good learning moment,” said Cook, noting that the Tigers jumped out to an 8-1 lead over Delaware before hanging on for the 15-14 win. “It shows us that we need to continue to execute our systems on both the defensive side and the attack side of the ball and be disciplined in running those the way we are able to.”

Princeton showed a lot of offensive balance in the victory over Hofstra.

“We had an incredibly spread offense today regarding sharing the ball,” said Cook. “Our offense does a good job of that anyway. Between Jami, Haven, and McKenzie, we are really difficult to match up on for opponents. If you are going to slide early to them, it is going to create opportunities for others. Our players really did a great job sharing the ball and taking advantage of that today. They have such good chemistry and they play so selfless and share the ball so well on the offensive side. That is what we do really, really well.”

Cook credited Dora with triggering the Tiger offense. “Haven is such a competitor,” said Cook of Dora, who now has five goals and 21 assists this season. “She just does such a good job making sure her teammates are open and getting them the ball in the right time to get them to finish. We always talk about what can you do with that feed when you catch it. She is just really having a great year.”

In Cook’s view, Dora’s great experience with U.S. team this summer has helped her raise her game.

“Any time you have an opportunity to play with different people on your team and also high level opponents it is always going to increase your lacrosse IQ,” said Cook. “It is obvious that she has that.”

The Princeton defense played at a high level in the win over the Pride, holding them to one goal in each quarter.

“Our D did a really great job of executing our game plan,” said Cook. “We changed our on-ball force which frustrated Hofstra. They are incredibly talented offensively. They have really good dodgers and are coached well. We forced in against Delaware and we were trying to face their main dodgers outside today. I thought we did a good job of controlling that in this game.”

The pair of junior Dylan Allen and senior co-captain Sam Whiting helped spearhead the defensive effort.

“Dylan did incredible; our goalies had big-time stops, Amelia [Hughes] was a wall in the cage,” said Cook. “Sam is an incredible leader for us on the defensive end, constantly sliding, making sure that we are organized and always just really good on her one-on-ones. Her and Dylan had phenomenal games for us.”

With the Tigers hosting Penn State on Wednesday and Harvard on March 8 in its Ivy League opener before playing at Rutgers on March 12, Cook is looking for her squad to build on its encouraging 3-1 start.

“We have a stretch now where we have a Big 10 opponent in Penn State and then we have our opening Ivy League game against Harvard and then another Big 10 opponent in Rutgers,” said Cook. “This February and early March stretch definitely shows us areas that we need to improve upon game-to-game. I think that is how you get better, you have to play really great out-of-conference opponents. We are doing that and learning along the way.”

Dora, for her part, believes the Tigers will keep getting better and better.

“I think it is a good start, it definitely gives us confidence as we head into the rest of the season,” said Dora. “The Ivy League is going to be competitive and those games are coming up so we just have to keep our heads up, practicing hard, and not being complacent at any time.”