Taylor Cummings is a three-time Tewaaraton Award winner, a member of the U.S. women’s national team, the inaugural Athletes Unlimited Lacrosse champion and the head coach at McDonogh (Md.). “Taylor’s Takes” is presented by Gait Lacrosse. Be legendary.
There’s truly nothing like playing against a rival school. No matter when you face them during the season, it always means something bigger and literally anything can happen.
It could be the opening game of the spring, the conference championship game or the final game of a lackluster year, and the tension would still run deep. Rivalry week is the time when current records don’t seem to matter much, and there always seems to be a mix of big blowouts, huge upsets and wire-to-wire matches that come down to the last second.
Fans witness firsthand the level of play from every single player and a palpable passion from teams for their respective schools, teammates and coaches. That near tangible feeling of pride mixed with intensity was always my favorite part of playing North Carolina, Syracuse and Northwestern every year as a Terp. I knew it was going to be a great game filled with talented players, but it always felt like the team who loved each other more and fought together as one would come out on top, so that sense of pride was a competition within the game itself.
This week, fans were lucky enough to witness multiple rivals go head-to-head. Some games were tight from the opening whistle, while others found themselves with a running clock on their opponents. This week’s “Taylor’s Takes” will consist of a deep dive into those rivalry matches and highlight players who were the difference makers for their teams.
Penn (5-9) vs. Princeton (10-3)
Both Penn and Princeton are constant figures in the Ivy and NCAA tournaments and have a long-established rivalry fueled by consistent excellence and respect. Princeton has had an excellent year thus far after not participating in the 2021 season but had to get through a tough and motivated Penn team to continue its hot streak.
The Tigers were the clear favorites going into this Wednesday night matchup, but the Quakers were unrelenting in their crisp play and were able to capitalize on multiple Princeton mistakes to keep the game close until the end. Penn even had a chance to tie the score late in the fourth quarter, but a costly turnover led to Princeton possession and ultimately a 15-13 Tigers victory.
Maria Themelis led Penn with four goals and solid offensive play, but again it was Princeton’s Kate Mulham who shined and helped lead the Tigers to victory. An incredibly shifty and unassuming player, Mulham scored five goals and eventually earned herself a face guard, which helped open lanes for top scorers Kyla Sears and Nina Montes.
Virginia Tech (9-8) vs. Virginia (8-8)
Virginia and Virginia Tech have had a long standing in-state rivalry that has produced many tight games and upsets. They play different styles that challenge the other in ways they are not used to. Virginia tends to play with a more traditional dodge-based offense and solid man-to-man defense, while Virginia Tech leans more towards an aggressive shifting zone and ball movement offense.
Unfortunately for the Hokies on Thursday night, the Cavaliers were not going to be upset this year thanks to all-star performances from Ashlyn McGovern, Rachel Clark and Mackenzie Hoeg on the offensive end. These three players combined for 12 of Virginia’s 18 goals and produced three helpers as well. The game started out chippy and close, but once McGovern, Hoeg and Clark were able to figure out Virginia Tech’s tricky shifting zone, they slowly began to chip away until the hill was too much for the Hokies to climb. The final result was 18-11 in favor of the Cavs.