Princeton women's lacrosse coach Chris Sailer had a feeling she had a special team before the season began.

On May 19 at Loyola College's Curley Field in Baltimore in front of a near-capacity crowd of 4,400, she found out how special when the Tigers rolled to a 12-7 win over top-seeded Georgetown to capture their second Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship.

"When we had our first team meeting this year, I knew it was a fantastic group of individuals, and this fantastic group of individuals has come together to form the most special group I've ever been around," she said. "It's a great day in Princeton lacrosse history, but it's just one of many great days this season."

Since Princeton had been the last team not named Maryland to win a championship (1994), it was only fitting that the Tigers, who were visiting the title game for the third time since then, walked away with the trophy. The last team other than Maryland or Princeton to win was Virginia, in 1993, which beat the Tigers to do it. The Terps, by the way, fell hard to Cornell, 14-4, in the quarterfinals.

Lauren Simone, who was voted the tournament's most outstanding player, led the way for the victors, scoring two of her three goals in the second half to help Princeton post its school-record 19th straight win, the only loss coming in the season opener against the Hoyas, 15-13. Georgetown, which finished as runner-up for the second consecutive year, finished 17-2.

"I thought it was a great game, as is the case every time Georgetown and Princeton get together," said Georgetown coach Kim Simons, who is a Princeton graduate. "In the end, they played better than us in the last 10 minutes and that was the difference."

Early, in the game, it was the Hoyas who took control, building a two-goal lead. Georgetown never trailed in the first half but Simone's first goal of the game, at 25:41, evened the score at four goals apiece.

"We thought if we could continue to attack from the top of the circle in the second half with drives and dishes, we'd have a good shot to win," said Sailer, who also coached the 1994 team.

Simone gave the Tigers their first lead at 4:29 of the second half. Georgetown's Wick Stanwick got the third of her four goals at 5:53, but Princeton scored five times in the next 10 minutes to take control. Simone and Lindsey Biles each got their third of the game in that outburst, as five different Princeton players scored.

Princeton goalie Sarah Kolodner had 11 saves, five of them in a 60-second span beginning in the 18th minute of the second half after the Tigers had opened a 10-5 lead. Georgetown carved the margin to 10-7, but Charlotte Kenworthy scored her second goal of the game at 27:54, to take the lead back to four goals. The Hoyas did not threaten again.

Elizabeth Pillion scored her second goal of the game in the closing seconds for the Tigers.

"Winning the championship is pretty surreal right now, but it's the perfect end to the perfect season," Simone said. "I'm just so happy for my teammates, we've worked so hard all year long."

Simone was joined on the all-tournament team by teammates Kolodner, Whitney Miller, Brooke Owens and Rachael Becker. The Hoyas' representatives were Melissa Biles, Chandler Vicchio and Erin Elbe. Also named were Cornell's Jaimee Reynolds and Katie McCorry. North Carolina's Jazmine Norton and Beth Ames also were selected.

The teams advanced to the title game after vastly different semifinal games May 17. Georgetown had to go to overtime before disposing of Cornell, 12-10, after the Big Red had forced the extra period with a game-tying goal with 20 seconds left in regulation. Princeton, on the other hand, raced to an 8-0 lead and disposed of North Carolina, 16-2.

Championship summary

First round: Georgetown 20, Lafayette 9; Duke 10, Vanderbilt 5; Cornell 16, Syracuse 8; Maryland 13, Loyola (Md.) 8; Princeton 25, Le Moyne 3; Notre Dame 11, Ohio St. 7; North Carolina 22, UMBC 6; Virginia 20, Temple 8.

Quarterfinals: Georgetown 11, Duke 4; Cornell 14, Maryland 4; Princeton 11, Notre Dame 5; North Carolina 14, Virginia 13 (ot).

Georgetown scoring: Wick Stanwick 2, Gloria Lozano 2, Kate Ahearn 2, Anouk Peters 2, Lauryn Bernier 1, Melissa Ellers 1, Erin Elbe 1, Elizabeth Ryan 1.

Cornell scoring: Lori Woholschlegel 3, Jaimee Reynolds 2, Sarah Fischer 2, Katie McCorry 1, Beth Calder 1, Kate Hirschfield 1.

Shots: Georgetown 36, Cornell 34. Goalkeeper saves: Cornell -- Carrie Giancola 8; Georgetown -- Chandler Vicchio 10.

Princeton scoring: Theresa Sherry 5, Whitney Miller 4, Charlotte Kenworthy 3, Lauren Simone 1, Lindsay Biles 1, Elizabeth Pillion 1, Kim Smith 1.

North Carolina scoring: Lindsey Stone 1, Brooke Young 1.

Shots: Princeton 36, North Carolina 15. Goalkeeper saves: Princeton -- Sarah Kolodner 6, Megan McInnes 2; North Carolina -- Katelyn Hoffman 8.

Princeton scoring: Lauren Simone 3, Lindsey Biles 3, Charlotte Kenworthy 2, Elizabeth Pillion 2, Mimi Hammerberg 1, Whitney Miller 1.

Georgetown scoring: Wick Stanwick 4, Kate Ahearn 1, Erin Elbe 1, Anouk Peters 1

Shots: Princeton 27, Georgetown 29. Goalkeeper saves: Princeton -- Sarah Kolodner 9; Georgetown -- Chandler Vicchio 5.