PRINCETON, NJ 5/6/2018 – It was the way it should be. The two teams who shared the regular season crown meeting for the tournament championship. And the game was an absolute classic, worthy of a title tilt. With the game tied at 10 the Princeton Tigers scored the last three goals of the game in the last eight and a half minutes, two by midfielder Tess D’Orsi, to earn a 13 – 10 victory and the Ivy League Championship.
Princeton won the regular season meeting here by a 21 – 8 score. This game was very different.
The University of Pennsylvania could not get a lead, but despite playing from behind did manage to tie the game seven times. The Quakers showed grit.
“There was a lot of fight, and that was different from the last game,” Penn Coach Karin Corbett said. “Today, we came out to attack and to win. I am proud of our team after being beaten badly the last time, to fall behind and feel they can compete and did compete for sixty minutes.”
Penn did have three good chances to get a score and move in front, but the ball hit the post, was blocked, or Princeton goal keeper Sam Fish made big saves, 11 for the game. The last tie at 9 each came on a goal by Penn sophomore midfielder Gabby Rosenzweig, her fourth of the game.
In the end the turnovers and ground balls cost the Red and Blue. The Orange and Black had the edge in ground balls 19 – 14 and less turnovers by a 16 – 12 margin. And the Quakers did not find the back of the net.
“We didn’t finish,” Crobett said. “We didn’t own ground balls on both ends of the field. We were’t getting second chances on attack and that changes the outcome of the game.
Sophomore midfielder Erin Barry scored twice for Penn, who also got goals from freshman Elyse Decker, freshman midfielder Abby Bosco, and senior defender Natalie Stefan, her first of the season. Stefan, Rosenzweig, and defender Katy Junior were named to the All-Tournament team.
D’Orsi finished with 4 goals for Princeton. Midfielders Kyla Sears and Elizabeth George each registered a hat trick. George was named the tournament Most Outstanding Player.
The Tigers will get the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Penn will play more lacrosse games as the deserve an at-large bid.
“We’ve done a really good job and we don’t have a bad loss,” Corbett said about her team’s chances about being selected. “With all that’s been happening this year, a lot of upsets, I believe we deserve to go to the tournament.”
Written By: Glenn Papazian
Contact: Glenn@PhillyCollegeSports.com
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