May 11, 2008

by Justin Feil, Special to Lacrosse Magazine Online

PRINCETON, N.J.- A banner at the scoreboard end of Princeton University's Class of 1952 Stadium displays five final four appearances since 2000 for the women's lacrosse team.

The last one came in 2004, when the Tigers beat Vanderbilt, 11-3, to reach the national final.

Ashley Amo came to that game as a Ridgewood (N.J.) High senior. Then she chose Princeton over Vanderbilt.

"To see the tradition out here, it was just amazing," said Amo, now a Princeton tri-captain. "I'd always look and think, can I play at this level? And now it's almost here."

Amo helped the Tigers move within a win of adding 2008 to that banner when she scored three goals and added three assists Sunday in a 14-10 win over Vanderbilt in a first-round game of the NCAA Division I women's lacrosse tournament.

It was the schools' first meeting since the 2004 final four. Neither team has reached the final four since then, but Amo thinks this is the Tigers' year.

"The upperclassmen have worked so hard to bring back Princeton lacrosse and the traditions it's had," she said.

The eighth-seeded Tigers opened the season with 10 straight wins, but raised doubts when they lost four of their final six regular season games. They improved to 13-4 with their 10th straight NCAA tournament win at Class of 1952, and will have to upset top-seeded Northwestern, a 15-7 winner over Notre Dame, on the road Saturday to reach the final four.

Princeton has not had a senior class graduate without a final four appearance in the last 20 years.

"Our goals are definitely still the same," Amo said. "We take it game by game, but we need to understand we're one game away from our goal. We've worked all season for this, and it's so within our grasp. We need to gut it out and play with heart."

Princeton, which is making its 11th straight NCAA tournament appearance, has not advanced beyond the quarterfinals in Amo's first three seasons.

"A lot of it is chemistry, just making sure everyone is on the same page," she said. "In the years past, we've had some great players and it's been the same, but the chemistry this year is something we worked so hard to foster in the offseason, learning what each other's good at and setting each other up."

After Vanderbilt took a 7-6 lead one minute into the second half, Amo tied the score. Princeton did not trail again. After the Commodores' leading scorer Margie Curran tied the game, 8-8, with 17:01 left, Princeton scored six of the final eight goals. Sarah Steele took feeds from Amo for two of her three goals and Amo added an insurance goal in the late run.

"We knew at halftime that this was a game we could break open if we just played like we could play," said Princeton coach Chris Sailer, whose 28th career NCAA win moved her within one win of tying current Navy coach Cindy Timchal for the all-time lead. "We came out much harder in the second half and were able to feed off the momentum of a couple big stops in the defensive end, and then some goals in the offensive end."

The win has the Tigers back on track after a late-season slide. Injuries factored heavily, as the Tigers lost two players to ACL tears. One of them, senior Katie Lewis-Lamonica, returned after a seven-game absence to give Princeton a boost with a goal Sunday.

Said Sailer: "The sheer joy for her to be on the field again, it makes you feel great."

The Tigers have bumps and bruises across their lineup, but they are getting closer to full strength.

"We've had to fight, and I think that's going to help us down the stretch," Sailer said. "Having a big win against a quality team, a top-10 team, is going to do a lot for our confidence going into our quarterfinal game. I think it definitely shows the character of the team."

Vanderbilt had won six straight games before falling to top-seeded Northwestern in the American Lacrosse Conference tournament final. The Commodores' season, in which they set a program record for regular season wins, ends at 13-6.

Cara Giordano had four goals for Vanderbilt, and Curran had two goals and three assists in her college finale.

Four years ago, the New Jersey product joined a final four team, but Princeton prevented a return to that level.

"It's been a great ride," Curran said. "Last year was the first time I experienced NCAAs. I just think it's awesome getting here. I think our team has done really well. I couldn't have asked for more."

Curran paused, then added, "maybe an NCAA championship."