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	Virginia midfielder Brittany Kalkstein (17) runs out of trouble after winning one of five draws against Princeton, March 24, 2007. (Click for a larger image: 112K)

The Virginia women’s lacrosse team won 13 of the 18 draws, including five by Brittany Kalkstein, and defeated Princeton 9-7 today in Charlottesville. After Princeton (3-3) took a 2-1 lead early in the first half, Megan Havrilla had a goal and an assist to spark a 3-0 run that saw Virginia (8-1) take a 4-2 lead that they did not relinquish. Kate Breslin led all scorers with three goals while Ashley McCulloch added a goal and three assists; she also added four draw controls. Jen Holden led the Cavaliers with five ground balls and a caused turnover while McBrearty made nine saves and never allowed Princeton to pull even after the Cavaliers took the 3-2 lead.

Princeton’s Kathleen Miller fed Katie Lewis-Lamonica for the first goal of the game in the second minute of play, and it was eight more minutes before either team was able to find the back of the net again. McBrearty saved a shot that would have given the Tigers a 2-0 lead, and she outletted the ball to Duff, who carried the ball into the offensive zone where McCulloch tied the game off a pass from Weymouth. However, 90 seconds later Kristin Schwab fed Mary Minshall to give the Tigers the lead again.

Kalkstein won one of her five draws and got the ball to Blair Weymouth, who gave the ball to McCulloch, who fed Havrilla for a goal 11 seconds after Minshall. A Tiger overthrow was scooped up by Jen Holden, and Virginia brought the ball forward where Havrilla dumped the ball down to Breslin, whose goal at 16:28 put the Cavaliers on top 3-2. Duff won the draw and a Wasilewski feed to Megan O’Malley three minutes later put the Cavaliers up 4-2. Princeton pulled within one off a goal by Holly McGarvie, but Kalkstein won the draw and got the ball to McCulloch, who fed Blair Weymouth, who scored 36 seconds after McGarvie, to give UVa a 5-3 lead they took into halftime.

	Princeton’s Holly McGarvie (7)plays some serious behind-the-cage defense against Virginia’s Jes Wasilewski (6), March 24, 2007. (Click for a larger image: 112K)

Kalkstein won her third draw of the day to open up the second half, but the Tigers gained possession briefly before turning the ball back over to the Cavaliers. Holden scooped up the loose ball and in the transition Havrilla was fouled on a drive to the cage. She passed the ball across the arc to Breslin on the reset, and Breslin scored her second goal two minutes into the second half to give the Cavaliers their largest lead of the game. Back-to-back goals by Alison Murray and Lewis-Lamonica four minutes apart pulled the Tigers within one at 6-5.

Kalkstein again won the draw, and Virginia worked the ball over to McCulloch who dumped the ball into Breslin, who quicksticked the ball into the cage for a hat trick 68 seconds after Lewis-Lamonica’s goal. Schwab scored off the draw to cut the deficit back to one.

Princeton had the ball in the Virginia arc with a chance to tie the game, but a dropped ball was picked up by Alice Hughey, and at the other end of the field Duff fed Kalkstein on a fast break, and Kalkstein rocketed in the shot to put Virginia back on top by two. Again the Tigers pulled within one when Ashley Amo scored on a drive from the top at 3:41. Murray won the draw for Princeton, but the Tigers turned the ball over on a charge and Jen Holden gained her fifth ground ball of the game. At the other end of the field Jess Wasilewski scored from a take from the top to push the Cavaliers ahead by two at 3:41, and Claire Bordley won her second draw of the game to give Virginia possession for the final three minutes.

Princeton’s Norris Novak, Caitlin Reimers, and Kristin Schwab each had three ground balls to lead the Tigers, while Reimers added two caused turnovers. Freshman goalie Kaitlyn Perrelle had seven saves for Princeton while McBrearty made nine for the Cavaliers.

With the win, the Cavaliers take the edge 13-12 in the storied series between these two clubs. Virginia returns to action with a game at James Madison on Wednesday, March 28. Opening draw against the Dukes is slated tor 7 p.m.