No. 12 Virginia Tops No. 9 Princeton 14-9

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The No. 12 Virginia women’s lacrosse team (4-0) closed the game on a 5-0 run for a 14-9 win over No. 9 Princeton (1-1) on a rainy Saturday at Turf Field.
 
Junior Sammy Mueller (Pelham, N.Y.) matched a career-high with six goals to lead the Cavaliers. Freshman Annie Dyson (Alexandria, Va.) had four points with two goals and two assists and senior Maggie Jackson (Alexandria, Va.) had two goals and an assist. UVA had four players with one goal.
 
The Cavaliers led the Tigers in shots (27-23) and ground balls (23-18). UVA had 16 caused turnovers as Princeton finished with 27 turnovers on the day. Princeton had a 14-11 advantage on draw controls. Three players finished with two goals apiece for Princeton.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Virginia scored first when Jackson won the opening draw and Dyson ran down for a goal just 10 seconds into the game. Mueller then tacked on back-to-back goals to put UVA ahead 3-0. Princeton went on a 3-0 run to tie the game. Freshman Courtlynne Caskin (Potomac, Md.) scored and Mueller added another for her second straight hat trick to give the Cavaliers a 5-3 lead with 9:35 to play in the first half. The Tigers scored three goals to take a 6-5 lead into halftime.
 
UVA came out strong in the second half with four consecutive goals. Dyson tied the game, then Jackson had back-to-back goals and Mueller capped the run with a goal. Princeton would tie the game for the fourth time with another 3-0 run. Sophomore Ashlyn McGovern (Phoenix, Md.) converted a free position to halt the run by the Tigers and spark the UVA 5-0 run to close the game. Freshman Grayson Offutt (Arlington, Va.) and senior Avery Shoemaker (Wyndmoor, Pa.) each had goals in the run, while Mueller scored two more.
 
FROM HEAD COACH JULIE MYERS
“Princeton is always such a well-coached team, a disciplined team. It is a fun matchup. If you can come out on top, you feel really good about that. We dug a little bit deeper, we just turned it over a little bit less than Princeton at the end and we were able to capitalize on their turnovers.”
 
NOTES

• Mueller matched her career-high with six goals in the win.
• Jackson had five draw controls, three ground balls and two caused turnovers to go with her three points (2 goals, 1 assist).
• McGovern had a career-high three caused turnovers.
• Senior Sophie Alecce (Baltimore, Md.) had three caused turnovers.

 
UP NEXT
Virginia is back on the road for a game at William & Mary on Tuesday, Feb. 26 at 5 p.m. in Williamsburg, Va.