Women’s Lacrosse: High-Scoring Star

Olivia Hompe ’17 ranks second on Princeton’s career scoring list.

Beverly Schaefer

Olivia Hompe ’17 doesn’t know where her interests in service and government will take her, but her Princeton women’s lacrosse teammates have an idea.

“They kid that she’s going to be president, but I don’t know how much of a joke that is,” says Princeton head coach Chris Sailer. “Maybe she’ll be secretary of state or head of the FBI or CIA — who knows? But we think Liv is going to make her mark in the world.”

Hompe has made her mark everywhere else. In addition to starring on the lacrosse field, she serves as president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. A Woodrow Wilson School major, she’s proficient in Arabic and interned at the FBI last summer. And in February, she was one of four seniors selected for Princeton’s Scholars in the Nation’s Service Initiative (SINSI) graduate program. 

Before coming to college, Hompe was a two-sport star: At New Canaan (Conn.) High School, she became the second-leading scorer in the history of U.S. girls’ ice hockey with 236 goals, 148 assists, and 384 points. But she passed up collegiate hockey to concentrate on lacrosse.

“I loved hockey, but I really started growing into lacrosse later,” Hompe says. “I love the pace of the game.”

Hompe’s lacrosse numbers are nearly as eye-popping as her hockey stats. She climbed into the second spot on Princeton’s career scoring list with an eight-point game in the Tigers’ 16–4 win over Delaware April 2. Her 225 points trail only the 270 of Crista Samaras ’99. “It’s a big honor,” Hompe says, “but it’s a testament to the people and the team I played with.”

“You can see how much she loves to compete and the emotion she plays with, and also the intelligence that I think reflects who she is as a person.”

 — Head coach Chris Sailer

As a sophomore, playing alongside high-scoring seniors Erin McMunn ’15 and Erin Slifer ’15, Hompe emerged as the Tigers’ top goal scorer. Last year, she became the focal point of opposing defenses and learned to handle double teams, face guards, and physical play. As a senior, Hompe is having her best season yet, leading the Tigers to an 8–1 start.

“She has so much joy that she exudes on the field,” Sailer says. “You can see how much she loves to compete and the emotion she plays with, and also the intelligence that I think reflects who she is as a person. She brings a lot of flair to the field and loves to make the big plays.”

The year that Hompe and her classmates arrived as freshmen, the Tigers captured their first Ivy League championship in eight seasons. They’ve now won or shared the Ivy title in three straight years, and Hompe wants to make it four, with a deep NCAA run to cap her class’s final year.

“It’s about securing a legacy for all of us and leaving the team on a high note,” she says. “Part of that is shifting the culture of the team. I think we’ve done that over our four years. We want to go out super strong as a class.”

After graduation, Hompe will play for Team England in the Women’s Lacrosse World Cup. Her mother, Amanda (Hodgson) Hompe ’83, is British, and both of her sisters, Xandra and Eliza ’14, were born in England. “It’s an honor to be picked,” Hompe says. “And the World Cup is in England this year. It’s going to be an amazing experience.”

Hompe has bigger international aspirations away from the field. In the four-year SINSI program, she will spend two years pursuing a master’s degree at the Woodrow Wilson School and two more working in a fellowship with a federal agency. 

“Olivia wants to excel in everything,” Sailer says. “She’s a competitive kid. She wants to put forth her best in whatever she does.”