SAILING ALONG: Princeton University women’s lacrosse head coach Chris Sailer surveys the action during a game earlier this season. Last Saturday, Hall of Famer Sailer earned the 350th win of her 29-year tenure at Princeton as the Tigers topped Harvard 17-12. No. 13 Princeton, now 6-1 overall and 2-0 Ivy League, hosts California on March 25 and Delaware on March 28. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

After winning its first four games of the season, the Princeton University women’s lacrosse team hit a roadblock on a trip to Virginia earlier this month.

Playing a powerful University of Virginia squad, Princeton fell behind 12-4 on the way to an 18-11 loss to the Cavaliers in the March 14 contest.

While the loss stung, Princeton head coach Chris Sailer believes it could turn out to be a blessing in disguise.

“I think we really needed that; of course you want to win but we had some wins where we hadn’t played our best,” said Sailer.

“We needed to make some changes and adjustments. We needed to play with a different energy and effort. We needed to focus the girls. We had to keep fighting when things weren’t going our way. We got a lot of goals in the second half so that was good to see.”

A week of spring break followed the Virginia game and that gave the Tigers a chance to recharge in time for home games against Penn State last Wednesday and Harvard on Saturday.

“We did some fun things; we did bowling at Colonial Lanes and we did laser tag,” said Sailer. “After a tough loss, we needed to just have some fun together and I think that put us in a good frame of mind for Penn State.”

The 13th-ranked Tigers had fun in the clash with Penn State, overcoming an early 4-2 deficit to pull out a 12-11 win.

“I think they were ranked 11th when we played them,” said Sailer, who got four goals from senior Erin Slifer in the win with senior Erin McMunn contributing three goals and an assist and junior Stephanie Paloscio adding two goals and two assists. “It was our seventh win in the last eight games against them. It is always a competitive game.”

On Saturday, Princeton faced a competitive foe in an improved Harvard team.

“It is a really good team, they have a lot of athletic kids,” said Sailer, a 1981 Harvard alum who starred in field hockey and lacrosse for the Crimson. “It is the most physical game we have played this year; they have a very physical defense.”

In the clash against the Crimson, the Tigers jumped out to a 5-3 lead only to give up three straight goals. Princeton added a tally by senior Erika Grabbi in the last minute of the half to take a 6-5 lead at intermission. The rivals were knotted at 8-8 early in the second half before the Tigers went on a 5-0 run to gain control of the contest, never looking back on the way to a 17-12 triumph.

“They had their runs but I think the momentum changed early in the second half when we had that 5-goal run, that seemed to break their back,” said Sailer, whose team improved to 6-1 overall and 2-0 Ivy League by virtue of the victory.

The Tigers showed some resilience as they regrouped after McMunn left the Harvard game in the first half due to an injury.

“Initially when she went out we struggled,” said Sailer. “We were figuring it out and it was great to see other girls come through.”

Grabbi ended up with two goals off the bench while Hompe contributed five goals, Paloscio added three goals and three assists, and star midfielder Slifer chipped in four goals and two assists. Slifer was later named the Ivy league Player of the Week.

“Erica had played at UVa and did well; she played within herself against Harvard,” said Sailer.

“She was smart with her decisions, calm and collected. Hompe had a great game, we are feeding off of her energy. It is great to see Stephanie consistently getting goals and assists. She had two goals and an assist against Penn State. She is very crafty, very smart, very alert. She is tough to mark because she is really small. She is playing well.”

The win also marked a milestone as it was Sailer’s 350th career victory. “I didn’t think it was something that people would celebrate; I knew I got my 300th win a while ago,” said Sailer, a Hall of Fame coach who now has a 350-139 record in 29 years guiding Princeton.

“It just represents a lot of great kids and assistant coaches that I have had. I am so fortunate to coach at a place like Princeton with the kids and staff that I have had. It makes me think about how the kids have earned all of those wins.”

With Princeton hosting California on March 25 and Delaware on March 28, Sailer is looking to add to that win total.

“The focus is to continue to get better; we were not taking enough risks on defense,” said Sailer.

“Against Penn State, Amanda Leavell had a great game with stick checks and ground balls. Liz Bannantine made a clutch play at the end of the game, getting a ground ball when they were pressing forward. We have to stretch ourselves and do more on the field, we could see that in the loss at Virginia. We want to have better defensive intensity and execute all over the field. The focus is on ourselves; we need to keep our house in order.”