The No. 20 women’s lacrosse team (9-4, 2-3 Ivy) fell to No. 17 Princeton (8-4, 4-1 Ivy) on Saturday by a score of 23-10.
Princeton brought an unstoppable attack all game long, with Brown allowing 23 goals — the most they’ve surrendered all season.
“I think Princeton's offense had a great showing,” defender Codi Johnson ’27 wrote in an email to The Herald. “They definitely scouted us well and we have to give them credit for that.”
“On defense, it just wasn't our day and we weren't able to adjust quickly enough to their sets,” Johnson added. “I think they executed well on most, if not all, of their looks to the cage.”
“Princeton is a great team,” Head Coach Katrina Dowd wrote. “They are talented and well coached. They moved the ball really well on offense and played a great team game.”
Princeton controlled possession for much of the game, with 24 draw controls to Brown’s 12.
“Because we didn't win the draw battle, we had the ball less, so (we) couldn't score as much,” attacker Mia Mascone ’24 wrote. “When we had the opportunity with the ball, we needed to be more efficient and step up.”
After an opening goal from Mascone, Princeton rattled off five straight goals to build a lead they would not relinquish. Bruno fought hard to narrow the deficit, bringing the score to 9-6 at the end of the first period, but Princeton scored eight of the next nine goals to take a 17-7 advantage heading into halftime which the Bears ultimately could not overcome.
Mascone was a bright spot for Brown despite the loss, scoring four goals and assisting on three more, becoming just the fourth player in school history to tally 50 goals in a season. Additionally, her seven points on Saturday brought her season total to 77, one shy of the all-time single-season school record set by Lauren Becker ’87 in 1986.
“Mia is one of the best attackers,” Dowd wrote. “She is a dangerous dodger (and) a great passer … She elevates our offense.”
Mascone credited her teammates and coaches for her success this season. “It's a testament to our coaches and what they have done with the offense this year, and the willingness of my teammates to create those opportunities for me on the field,” she wrote.
The Bears also collected goals from Leah Caputo ’24.5, Julia Ford ’24, Annie Burton ’25, Sydney Rathjen ’25 and Greta Criqui ’25, who scored twice.
Now, the team’s players and coaches are focused on bouncing back from the weekend’s defeat.
“I think taking this game on the chin with a ‘no excuses’ attitude is the only way for us to move forward going into practice this week,” Johnson wrote. “Our team is eager to work after that loss and hungry for a big win against Penn … This loss can fuel our fire to compete leading up to” Saturday.
Dowd emphasized effort and improvement going into the team’s next game. “We have a great opportunity this week to push each other to improve and leave it all out on the field for Saturday,” Dowd wrote.
Brown plays Penn at noon on Saturday in Philadelphia. The game will stream on ESPN+.
Gus Bailey is a senior staff writer covering the sports beat. He is a sophomore studying applied math-economics. His interests include data analytics, marketing, social media and of course, sports.
