Princeton goalkeeper Erin Tochihara made a pair of saves in the final two minutes, including the game-deciding stop with 17 seconds remaining to hold off James Madison 11-10 in the first round of the 2011 NCAA Women’s Lacrosse Championship on Saturday at the JMU Lacrosse Complex.
The Tigers improved to 12-6 on the season and advanced to next weekend’s quarterfinal to face the top-seeded and defending national champions Maryland, while the Dukes ended their season with a 15-4 overall mark.
Charlotte Davis led Princeton with three goals and an assist, while Cassie Pyle and Lizzy Drumm each recorded two goals. Tochihara made a game-high eight saves, including five in the second half.
Ashley Kimener and Ariel Lane each recorded hat tricks with three goals apiece, while Mary Kate Lomady had two goals and an assist and Monica Zabel tallied one goal and two assists for the Dukes.
Princeton led 11-8 with 8:14 to go in the game, but JMU got a pair of goals from Lane cut the lead to just one with 2:56 to play.
The Dukes controlled possession on the next draw, but Tochihara made a point-blank save on Casey Ancarrow with 1:52 to go. The Tigers’ attempt to stall hit a snag when a turnover in the neutral zone by Lindsey deButts gave the ball back to JMU with just over a minute remaining.
Madison set up its offense, and Lane’s shot in front of the cage with just 17 seconds to go was again saved by Tochihara. Drumm picked up the ground ball for the Tigers to run out the clock and pick up the victory.
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