Princeton upsets No. 6 UVa. women’s lacrosse, 15-13

The No. 6 UVa. women’s lacrosse team (3-5, 0-2 ACC) fell to unranked Princeton (2-3, 0-1 Ivy) on Saturday, March 15 in Princeton, N.J.

“It was a really disappointing performance and outcome today,” said Virginia head coach Julie Myers. “I give a lot of credit to Princeton because they came hungry and determined. When we struggled a little bit, they were really able to capitalize on our turnovers and create goal opportunities. It was a great day to be able to play and come up with an important win, but we just fell short in every aspect of the game today.”

Juniors Liza Blue (Butler, Md.) and Morgan Stephens (Olney, Md.) each scored four goals for the Cavaliers while junior Courtney Swan (Vero Beach, Fla.) posted a hat trick in the second half.

Princeton had a balanced attack, with six different players having a multi-goal game. Sarah Lloyd led the Tigers with four goals. Alexandra Bruno had five points with three goals and two assists.

Virginia came back from an early 2-0 deficit to take a 3-2 lead with 24:11 left in the first, but Princeton scored three-straight goals to take the lead. The two teams were tied, 6-6, with seven second left in the half when Princeton picked off an errant Virginia pass, scoring on a fast break with 0.5 seconds left in the period to go into the break with a 7-6 advantage.

Blue started the second half scoring on a free-position goal just over a minute into the period. Princeton added two goals to retake the lead, 9-7. Stephens scored back-to-back free position goals to tie the game at 9 with 22:53 remaining. The Tigers rattled off four unanswered to take a 13-9 lead with 15:07 remaining. Virginia cut the deficit to two, 14-12, on a goal from Blue with 3:37 remaining, but Princeton answered with a score 1:46 later to put Virginia back down by three. Princeton won the ensuing draw control, but then turned the ball over. Swan took advantage of the possession, scoring with 1:03 remaining to make it a 15-13 game. Princeton won the final draw, running out the clock to secure the victory.

Princeton won 17 draw controls to Virginia’s 12, including having a 10-6 edge in the second half. Virginia was 6-of-10 on free position shots. Virginia was 2-of-6 on clears in the first period and turned the ball over six times in the first half. Princeton was 8-of-9 on clears in the game.

The Cavaliers return to Klöckner Stadium on Wednesday, March 19 when they host James Madison at 7 p.m.

Single-game reserved seats are available for all women’s home games for $7. Single-game general admission adult tickets for women’s home games are $5, while youth (18 and under), seniors (60 and over), and UVa faculty and staff tickets are $4 each.