PRINCETON, N.J. – Women's lacrosse had a one-goal lead at halftime, but Princeton outscored Cornell 9-3 in the second to hand the Big Red a 15-10 defeat on Saturday afternoon at Sherrerd Field. The big Tiger run began right off the bat following halftime, with the home team laying claim to the second half's first five goals to grab a lead they would not relenquish.
 
Kyla Sears led Princeton (8-5, 4-1 Ivy) with five points (4G, 1A) while Ellie McNulty added in four (3G, 1A) and Tess D'Orsi three (3G). Caroline Allen (3G) and captain Ida Farinholt (2G, 1A) paced Cornell (7-7, 2-4 Ivy) with three points each. Also getting on the board for the Big Red was Grace Paletta (2), Joey Coffy, captain Sarah Phillips and Isabel Zachara.
 
The Big Red had a good handle on the first half, taking a slight 7-6 lead at the end of the first 30 minutes. Paletta was on a roll in the beginning, securing the team's first two goals of the game in a back and forth affair in the first that featured four ties. The visiting squad had two two-score leads following tallies from Coffy and Farinholt. Coffy pushed the team up, 4-2, nine minutes in after a hard drive down the middle and Farinholt made it 5-3 just a few minutes later.
 
The Tigers kept themselves in it off of the strength of their free position strike. Overall, Princeton went 6-of-8 with its first four goals of the game coming from the eight-meter spot. Cornell went 2-of-4 from behind the arc, including one from Allen with just over 15 minutes left to play that ultimately stopped the Tigers' run. The sophomore has been dangerous all season from the free position, recording 16 goals from the spot – just one away from tying the 20-year old school record held by Cari Hills (17, 1998).
 
Also climbing up the program rankings was captain Taylor Reed, whose two draw controls bumped her up to No. 8 in career draw controls (102).
 
The Big Red had the statistical advantage in ground balls (17-13), clears (19-19, 16-19) and turnovers (8-12) while Princeton had significant leads in shots (37-29) and draw controls (18-9). Tomasina Leska was clutch on the ground ball pickups, leading all players with four. Mary Kate Bonanni and Anna Baumeister each registered three as well. Bonanni also had two caused turnovers along with Cait Callahan.
 
Goalkeeper Katie McGahan had eight saves and two ground balls in all 60 minutes. For Princeton, Sam Fish played 58:58, making 12 saves and scooping up two ground balls.
 
The team closes out the regular season on the road once again next week, traveling to take on Harvard for a 1 p.m. contest on Saturday, April 28.