SEEING IT THROUGH: Princeton University women’s lacrosse player Tess D’Orsi races to goal in recent action. Last Thursday, sophomore midfielder D’Orsi tallied five goals in a losing cause as a second-half Princeton rally fell short in a 17-16 loss to No. 12 Syracuse. On Saturday, D’Orsi chipped in a goal and an assist to help the Tigers bounce back with a 15-6 win at Delaware. Princeton, now 5-4 overall, plays at Harvard on April 7 before hosting No. 3 Maryland on April 10. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

Tess D’Orsi wasn’t overly concerned when the Princeton University women’s lacrosse team found itself trailing 12th-ranked Syracuse 9-5 at the half last Thursday evening.

“Our coaches believed in us and every single one of us knew we had it in us to have a comeback,” said sophomore star midfielder D’Orsi, reflecting on a recent stretch which saw that Princeton rally from a 6-1 deficit for a 13-12 win over Penn State on March 19 and fought back after trailing 13-6 in the second half before falling 15-12 to Dartmouth on March 24.

“We are no stranger to the comebacks. We know how that feels and we know how to come out just as hard as we finished the half and finish the game strong.”

D’Orsi started the second half strongly against the Orange, tallying with 27:32 left in regulation, triggering a four-goal run that saw the Tigers knot the game at 9-9.

“It is always a sigh of relief to get that first goal.” said D’Orsi, a 5’4 native of Sudbury, Mass. and member of the US Under-19 women’s lax program who accounted for three of the four answered goals in that run. “We wanted to keep that momentum.”

Although D’Orsi ended up with five goals in the second half, Syracuse regained enough momentum to hold off the Tigers and pull
out a 17-16 win.

“I was just trying to execute what our coaches were drawing up,” said D’Orsi, in assessing her second half outburst. “I was just trusting our coaches’ game plan.”

Teaming up with freshman star Kyla Sears has helped D’Orsi pile up the goals.

“Kyla is really, really talented, I can trust everyone with the ball but her especially,” said D’Orsi, who chipped in a goal and an assist to help the Tigers get back in the win column with a 15-6 victory at Delaware last Saturday. “I know what she will do once it is in her stick. She will do phenomenal things; it is great to work with her.”

With a season of college lacrosse under her belt, D’Orsi is looking to do more on and off the field for the Tigers.

“I am taking on more of a leadership role; it is easy as a freshman to just play in your role on the field and try to be a contributor,” said D’Orsi, who is currently tied with junior Kathryn Hallett for second in the team in goals (16) behind the 29 scored by Sears.

“Now as a sophomore, you have more experience and you have higher expectations from the coaches. I am putting higher expectations on myself, just trying to continue to grow and be a better teammate as well as player.”

Although the Tigers were disappointed to fall just short against Syracuse, D’Orsi believes the team’s effort in defeat bodes well for the stretch drive.

“We talked about it afterward, that was a great game for our team,” said D’Orsi, who will look to keep up her offensive production as Princeton plays at Harvard on April 7 before hosting No. 3 Maryland on April 10.

“We were fighting like a top team in the nation would. I think that is great to know our potential as a team. We saw what we put out there today was everything that we want and more. Going forward we still have room to improve but that was a good benchmark for us.”