Last year in fall ball, Chris Sailer knew she had something unique.
The Hall of Fame head coach of Princeton welcomed a freshman class that was ranked second-best in the country by Inside Lacrosse, and they impressed quickly.
“We knew they were athletic and knew they were talented,” Sailer said. “It just took a while to learn the systems on both ends of the field. We could see what they could bring as soon as they got to us in fall ball.”
Princeton was starting four freshman from the get-go when the season began and Sam Fish made it five when she won the goalkeeping job by the end of last March. Fish and attacker Kyla Sears lead a sophomore class that is expected to be even better – and to make Princeton even better – this year.
“It’s definitely a lot more fun in the sense that you’re not so nervous about making mistakes,” Fish said. “You already know our defense and attack. It’s finding your new role in the system.”
The goalkeeper from San Diego, Calif., comes off a season in which she had a .495 save percentage – 14th best in the nation – and was named second-team All-Ivy League.
Sears, the 2017 US Lacrosse national player of the year, lived up to her billing with first-team All-Ivy and second-team All-American honors on offense, one of just three freshmen in the country to be named an All-American. The Skaneateles, N.Y., product will try to build on a season in which she set Princeton and Ivy records for a freshman with 64 goals and 83 points.
“I feel like there’s definitely a sense of we’re a little more experienced,” Sears said. “We know what we’re getting into and we know the level of effort we need to perform.”
Classmates and defenders Marge Donovan, Mary Murphy and Olivia Pugh also started in their first year for Princeton. Donovan led Princeton in draw controls, Murphy was an Ivy player of the week once, and the trio filled openings left by graduation. Their success sets the stage for an encore.
“There’s certainly more confidence and certainly a lot of fire to continue to improve and compete,” Sailer said. “When you’ve been a freshman starter, the expectation is different. You’re not going to just add to the team; you’re going to help lead it. The expectation for performance consistency is there for the sophomore class and helping the younger kids transition is also there for them. I think these kids by season time, they’re really going to be ready and we’re excited what they’re going to bring to the team this year.”
The sophomore class had been looking forward to what it could contribute since they started the admissions process as sophomores in high school. They felt good about their potential when they came together.
“We met year after year at summer camp for Princeton,” Sears said. “There’s a lot of reasons that the recruiting rules should have been pushed back, but one of the nice things was I did know my classmates two or three years before we became freshmen. I think that’s an advantage because you get to make the connection a lot sooner. You hit the ground running.”
But, with so much youth in the lineup last year, not surprisingly it took some time for the Tigers to grow up. After a 4-4 start they won nine of their next 10 games including their fifth straight Ivy League regular season crown and fourth Ivy League tournament title before Boston College ended their season in the NCAA tournament second round.
“It’s not often that you have a freshman class that’s so impactful on the field,” Sailer said. “Having five at any one time on the field, I can’t remember the last time that happened.”
They say records are made to be broken. ... It’s great to have a kid like Kyla [Sears] who has the potential to do that.
Now, that class is a year older, wiser and prepared, and has a chance to show it next when they host Albany, Michigan and Virginia Tech in a play day Saturday.
“I think our sophomore class as a whole is in a not typical situation,” Sears said. “We had four or five who started almost the whole season. That’s a pretty amazing place to come in, having that experience and having a great class coming in behind us. Being able to pass along that experience to the next generation is something that will help us this year.”
Only two years after Olivia Hompe broke the Princeton scoring record, Sears is setting a pace that would break it. As a freshman, Hompe had a few more assists than Sears did, but 42 fewer goals.
“You’re always trying to recruit better and better players,” Sailer said. “They say records are made to be broken. We’ll see. There’s a lot that can happen. It’s great to have a kid like Kyla who has the potential to do that, but I don’t think that’s what she’s driven toward. She just loves playing the game and wants to continue to improve and help us win. For us to do that, she’s going to put up some big points no doubt.”
Opposing defenses will be scheming to slow Sears, but that won’t be easy as she has diversified her game. She is looking to be even more dangerous after shooting at a team-high 56 percent thanks to her ability to catch and finish even under great pressure.
“I can help my teammates more feeding-wise, ground ball-wise, on the ride,” Sears said. “I want to be a more versatile player rather than a player that can just score goals.”
Having the success she did last year has helped spur her on. She returns confident in her abilities and how she can work with her teammates.
“I was really satisfied,” Sears said. “I was overwhelmed with the support of my teammates. We got a lot of playing time, and the people around me could not have been any better. The team as a whole couldn’t be happier with how it ended up. We were the five-time Ivy champions. That’s where strive to be this year.”
To get there again, the Tigers will be leaning more on their sophomores for guidance and not just statistics.
“I think it’s definitely different,” Fish said. “We really need to step into the leadership roles on the team. It’s so rare to have a sophomore class with as much experience as we have, and we want to continue our momentum and not be complacent with how we played last year. Our class and the whole team environment, every girl works so hard and has such a love for the game, that it won’t be an issue. Everyone wants it so bad and is working so hard.”
Fish had to work hard to make her way into the starting lineup a year ago. Coming from California was a big adjustment on and off the field. She did not step in as the regular starter until Princeton’s ninth game, right when they began to take off.
“It was hard, but it was a really good thing to work my way up the ladder,” Fish said. “Having such good goalies around me helped me step up my game. I learned so much from them. It was awesome to have such good goalies around me and to work and improve at my game.”
Fish follows a decade of strong goalie play, highlighted by Erin Tochihara and then Ellie DeGarmo, the latter who was the 2016 goalkeeper of the year.
“It’s definitely a lot of pressure to fill in her shoes,” Fish said. “It gives me a level and a standard and a goal to try to achieve and try to be as good as all the goalies before me were. I talk to her, especially at the alumni games. She’s an awesome person. It’s fun to get to know her. Going through my high school years and watching her play, it’s neat to get to meet her and be able to hang out now.”
Fish has come back impressive. She showed up for fall ball well ahead of where she was last year.
“She did a lot of work this summer, she worked with a private goalie coach a little bit, and looks the best she’s looked,” Sailer said. “Her hands are quick. Most goalies have little habits that they try to change, and she had some of those, but this past weekend we played some competitive games and she did a really good job. She’s become a factor on the clear as well, and we’re excited to see how she continues to grow.”
The goalie situation is different this year with only sophomore walk-on, Lucy Norton, as another goalie for Princeton after they had two other older goalies last year.
“Having Lucy on the team has been such a great addition,” Fish said. “She has jumped right in and jumped right into college shots and it’s fun to have her out there with us. It keeps me sane.”
The rest of their class returns valuable experience. They will help to lead a freshman group that features U.S. under-19 training team member Shannon Berry and some good candidates to join her in the midfield. Sears will be a leader on the attack with junior Tess D’Orsi. The defensive end looks solid with the trio of sophomore defenders, seniors Nonie Anderson and Alex Argo and junior Maddie Staczek.
“I think we have a really unique mix of a returning squad with so much experience and a really talented freshman class that can make an impact right away,” Fish said. “Having that dynamic is exactly what you can hope for. We have this talented underclass group that will be supported by the senior class and junior class. Our class will have a big impact and we have a freshman class that can help right away. The strength and versatility of this team has it going in a really good direction.”
Fall Focus
Ivy League
Penn and Princeton were Ivy League regular season co-champions in 2018, but with hosting duties, the Tigers prevailed in the conference tournament, winning its second straight and fourth overall Ivy crown in the nine-year history of the event. Teams are listed in order of last year’s final standings.
Princeton
6-1 Ivy, 14-5 Overall
Goalie Sam Fish and the Tigers' entire defense returns, along with Kyla Sears, the attacker who was All-American as a freshman. The mix of young proven talent, a good freshman class highlighted by U-19 national training team member Shannon Berry, and veteran leadership will keep pushing for a sixth straight Ivy crown.
Penn
6-1 Ivy, 13-6 Overall
Paced by junior All-Americans Erin Barry and Gabby Rosenzweig and sophomore standout Zoe Belodeau, the offense is in good hands. Incoming U-19 national team member Michaela McMahon adds star power in the midfield. Katy Junior leads a defense that is consistently among the best in the country. The combination puts the Quakers in the hunt for a fourth straight Ivy title.
Dartmouth
5-2 Ivy, 11-5 Overall
Dartmouth is in great shape to contend, only graduating two starters. The Big Green return their top seven scorers from last year’s Ivy-leading offense that now has a new assistant coach in Maryland grad Megan Whittle. At the other end, they have first-team All-Ivy goalie Kiera Vrindten back for a defense that also was tops in the conference. Kathryn Giroux set an Ivy record with 133 draw controls a year ago.
Columbia
3-4 Ivy, 6-10 Overall
Ivy midfielder of the year Lindsey Ewertsen leads a resurgent Lions team trying to build on its first Ivy League tournament appearance. Columbia must replace a trio of stars in Victoria Kalamaras, who graduated as the program’s assist leader, defender Kathryn Cavallo, and four-year goalie Kelsey Gedin. Alex Absey returns as a top scoring threat after a terrific freshman year.
Brown
2-5 Ivy, 9-6 Overall
The Bears were more competitive last year than their record shows, even leading Princeton by three goals with 20 minutes left before losing by two goals. Brown will build around a good core on the attack with Risa Mosenthal, Emma DeGennaro and Hafsa Moinuddin. Senior Caroline Zaffino anchors the midfield.
Cornell
2-5 Ivy, 7-8 Overall
Replacing two of the program’s most prolific players on the draw control, Taylor Reed and Joey Coffy, will be a challenge for the Big Red, who struggled last year even with them. Caroline Allen carries the offense that needs to shoot better this year to help Cornell bounce back from an uncharacteristic down season.
Yale
2-5 Ivy, 7-8 Overall
The Bulldogs can get possessions thanks to Izzy Nixon, who was third in the nation in draw controls per game, but they weren’t able to capitalize last year as the lowest scoring Ivy team. Yale did show promise last year with non-conference wins over Albany and UMass. Yale was only a few plays away from a better Ivy mark after losing by two once and in overtime once.
Harvard
2-5 Ivy, 6-9 Overall
New head coach Devon Wills comes from helping to build USC into a national power to turn around Harvard. The goalie extraordinaire will want to improve a defense that ranked last in the league in goals allowed and caused turnovers. The Crimson were 11th in the country in points per game, and Keeley MacAfee takes the lead for graduated Ivy attacker of the year Julia Glynn.