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Sherry Scores 5 to Doom Virginia Again As Tiger Women's Lax Tops Cavs 12-9
By Bill Alden
Theresa Sherry is making a habit of breaking the hearts of the Virginia women's lacrosse team
Last May, the Princeton All-American attacker scored the game-winning goal in overtime as the Tigers topped the Cavaliers 8-7 in the NCAA championship game.
Last Sunday, Sherry was at it again as top-ranked Princeton hosted Virginia in a rematch of that classic title contest. The senior from Baltimore matched her single game career-high as she fired in five goals to lead the Tigers to a 12-9 win over the Cavaliers before 1,810 at the Class of 1952 Stadium.
Afterward Sherry downplayed the notion that she has Virginia's number. "I was just trying to play hard and take advantage of the opportunities I was given," said Sherry, who now has a team-high of 11 goals for the 3-0 Tigers. "I was just trying to be patient. It took a little while for me to start putting the ball in the net."
In Sherry's view, the Tigers made their opportunities through a special intensity on both ends of the field. "I think our whole team played really well," said Sherry, who led the Tigers with 46 goals last season as they won their second straight NCAA crown. "Every person stepped up when they needed to, on both offense and defense. We still made some mistakes but we're starting to come together. We're getting better each game."
Princeton head coach Chris Sailer liked what she saw as the Tigers won their 12th straight stretching back to last season. "It was our best effort yet," asserted Sailer. "I think we are tough, that's one of our themes this year."
In Sailer's view, her club showed its toughness when it went on a 3-0 run at the end of the first half to break open a 4-4 contest. "It was a tight game, our first lead was 4-3," recalled Sailer, who got two goals apiece from Lindsey Biles, Tara Hardiman, and Kathleen Miller. "We were behind a lot of the first half. Being three up at half made a big difference."
Having Sherry on its side also made a big difference for Princeton. "Some of T's goals today were just spectacular," said Sailer, of her attacker who now has 124 career goals, the seventh most in Princeton history. "She's just such a go-to kid. She's going to get her share of goals. She's going to draw top defenders which opens things up for the other kids. She goes out on the field and battles as hard as she can."
With her team at 3-0, a major improvement on last year's 1-3 start, Sailer believes her team is starting to find a rhythm.
"We're still pretty young and learning to play together," said Sailer, whose starting lineup Sunday included freshmen Miller, Christine Dobrosky, Caitlin Reimers, and Mary Minshall. "Our kids are really coming through. If they can improve as much as they did in the last week from the Loyola game (a 9-5 win), that would be great."
With No. 4 Duke coming to town Wednesday, Sailer knows the Tigers will have to keep progressing. "Duke is obviously a huge game for us," said Sailer, whose club lost 8-4 to the Blue Devils last season. "They're going to be tough, they have a lot of weapons."
Princeton's top weapon, Sherry, is determined to make the most out of her last campaign for the Tigers. "I think that myself and the rest of the seniors have enjoyed this," added Sherry, a team co-captain who served in the same role this fall for the Tiger women's soccer team. "It's kind of our time to take over and lead the team. I'm not very nostalgic, I just focus on one thing at a time and enjoy my team."
