Last year, it was Cornell. This year, it was Princeton. Against both opponents, the Brown women’s lacrosse team overcame history, as it tries to emerge from a shadow of its old self.

At its core, a talented group of underclassmen are retooling a Brown program that has finished in the top half of the Ivy League just once in the last 20 seasons (fourth in 2009). Last year’s fifth-place finish, which included the Bears’ first win over Cornell since 1999, is proving to be a stepping stone to larger things.

On Saturday, Brown (4-4, 2-1 Ivy League) ripped apart another piece of scar tissue in a 12-11 win over then-No. 11 Princeton, the program’s fifth over the Tigers in 40 tries. And the manner in which it was done shows that these Bears won’t roll over.

Brown trailed 9-2 after 12 minutes before holding the high-scoring Tigers without a goal for the next 37 minutes. Offensively, the Bears went on to score 10 straight goals for a three-goal cushion, and freshman goalie Erin Tucker saved seven consecutive shots.

Coach Keely McDonald credited a complete effort on the defensive side, led by captains Grace Plassche and Olivia Lee.

“It’s a team-oriented defense,” McDonald said. “We had all seven [defenders] on their toes in every set because [Princeton is] one of the most prolific offenses in the country.”

Backstopping the effort was Tucker, who posted her sixth game with at least 10 saves. In the second half, Tucker turned aside six Tiger shots against just two conceded goals. More impressively, nine of Tucker’s 10 saves came after she gave up nine Princeton goals with only one stop.

“Her consistency has been great all season,” McDonald said. “She’s just a freshman, but she plays very composed and steady. It was very true in this game as well.”

Another key component to the defensive success was the play of two-way midfielder Zoe Verni. The senior out of New York had a team-high four caused turnovers, four ground balls and a hat trick to pace the Bears. McDonald and the coaching staff presented Verni with Brown’s player of the game honors.

“She was just relentless,” McDonald said of Verni, “both in transition from the clear and defensively. She has a great wingspan and does a lot for us. Offensively, she was read to compete. She’s played [Princeton] plenty of times. She was going to do anything it took to get the win.”

For Verni and the seniors, it was their first win against the Tigers. Brown last defeated Princeton in 2014. The Bears are rebuilding around a core of young players that includes Tewaaraton Award watch list candidate Risa Mosenthal.

Only a sophomore, Mosenthal had five points (4g, 1a) on Saturday and leads the team with 34 goals. Mosenthal ranks fifth nationally in goals per game (4.25). Nearly half her goals come from the free-position hashes, as she averages 1.88 per game.

“Risa is a great player,” McDonald said. “She just loves to compete and she has a smile on her face when she’s competing. She works really hard. We knew against Princeton it was going to be a really big team effort offensively.”

When McDonald informed Mosenthal on Thursday that she was added to the watch list, she said the sophomore was nonplussed.

“She was like, ‘OK, sounds good.’” McDonald said with a laugh. “She worries much more about team success than anything else.”

As for how players like Tucker and Mosenthal have become attracted to attend and play at Brown, McDonald said institutional commitment has begun to pay off.

“Brown put a lot into the facilities a couple years ago,” McDonald said. “That really helps us recruit top players, especially this freshman class. That class came in ready to go. We’ve had to rely on them all season. It’s been great to see their growth throughout the season.”

That freshman class includes the starting goalie (Tucker), the team leader in draw controls (Claire Jeschke) and two newcomers with 10-plus caused turnovers (Erin Schafer, Alaina Parisella). Then the sophomore class boasts Mosenthal, the team’s assist leader (Maggie Fowler), as well as the team’s leader in caused turnovers (Mason Warble).

The time to celebrate the Princeton victory was brief. The team was already in Florida on Monday to prepare for Tuesday’s game against the 17th-ranked Gators. McDonald drafted a tougher schedule to reflect higher expectations of the Bears.

“We want to be challenged for every game that exists in the Ivy League,” McDonald said. “The staff has made it a harder out-of-league schedule so we can be our best throughout the season. I know [Florida is] another super-talented team. We’re going to have to really put our best game forward. They have a lot of scoring threats and a very sound defense. Again, it’s going to be a full team effort and focus on the moment.”

At the moment, a youth movement is in full swing for Brown. Now the Bears will look to crash the Ivy League’s May party for the first time.

“Everything takes time to build and have that kind of success,” McDonald said. “It’s certainly great to get some marquee wins over the last couple of years.”

THE WEEK THAT WAS

Just Three Remain

With Notre Dame’s loss at Syracuse, just three unbeaten teams are left: No. 1 Boston College (11-0), No. 2 Maryland (10-0) and No. 9 Michigan (12-0). BC and Maryland have created some separation from the rest of the pack with No. 3 UNC’s two losses coming to the top-two ranked teams.

Tight Wins in Surprising Places

While Princeton couldn’t avoid the upset bug against Brown, Virginia Tech and Penn both were safe. But barely. The Hokies (8-4, 1-1 ACC) had to overcome a three-goal second-half deficit with a five-goal run for its win. Virginia Tech avoided what would have been a 0-2 start to the ACC season with UNC, Syracuse, Notre Dame, BC and Virginia remaining on the scheduled. Meanwhile, Penn (8-1, 2-0 Ivy) held off Cornell’s late charge. The Quakers are 5-0 in games decided by less than three goals.

Gators Bounce Back

Back-and-forth Florida (4-6) went with Stony Brook (4-4, 1-0 America East)) in a game that featured five ties and three lead changes. In the end, Sydney Pirreca’s goal with 3:25 left proved to be the difference in an 11-10 victory. Haley Hicklen’s 15 saves were one off her career-high of 16. Stony Brook has its first four-loss season since 2016.

Cuse’s Hawryschuk Earns Weekly Honor

Heroics by junior attacker Emily Hawryschuk garnered her Brine/USL Player of the Week. Hawryschuk had four goals and an assist including the game-tying and game-winning goals in a 10-9 win over previously undefeated Notre Dame.

Hornets Break 23-Game Skid

Delaware State topped Howard 14-11 on Friday to snap a 23-game losing streak. Nine players scored for the Hornets led by Tamrin Swann and Olivia Summerville hat tricks. DSU’s last win came against Howard on March 26, 2017. Delaware State will look for back-to-back wins for just the second time in program history when it plays first-year program Kent State on Friday.