Women's water polo splits matches at Bucknell Invitational

Lewisburg, Pa., saw some exciting action in the pool this weekend as women's water polo traveled to Bucknell for the Bucknell Invitational. The Tigers split both days, defeating the Bisons, 11-5, in their first game on Saturday but losing to Indiana, 6-4, later on in the day. On Sunday the Tigers topped Slippery Rock, 18-3, but fell to Hartwick that afternoon, 9-7.

"I thought this weekend went really well overall," McCarthy said. "This weekend showed that we can compete with any team in the East, and we are looking forward to Easterns to play these teams again. All of our freshmen are excellent players, and our team is extremely deep."

Princeton got off to a slow start, trailing the Bisons, 2-1, at the end of the first quarter. However, the second quarter saw a huge jump for the Tigers as they outscored Bucknell, 4-1. Freshman utility Elyse Colgan scored two goals in the second quarter after scoring the lone goal for Princeton in the first, while junior center Kathryn Parolin and freshman driver Megan Zitren each contributed one goal to the solid Tiger effort.

In the third quarter, freshman driver Jazmin Brown scored a goal, and Colgan put another in the back of the net, pulling the Princeton lead to 8-5. The fourth quarter of the Bucknell game saw one more goal from both Colgan and Brown, along with a goal from junior driver Kelly Melia-Teevan. The Tigers also managed to shut out the Bisons in the fourth quarter of play.

Senior Lauren Lister and junior Maddie McCarthy split time in goal. Brown ended the game with three assists, as well as winning three of her four sprints, while Colgan scored the most goals for the Tigers, putting five up on the scoreboard. Overall, the Tigers went 2-for-4 on their 6-on-5 advantages.

The game against Indiana was not as successful for the Tigers, though Colgan managed to score two goals in the fourth quarter in a comeback that fell just short as the Tigers lost, 6-4.

Following the second quarter, the Tigers found themselves down, 2-0, before Melia-Teevan was finally able to get one past the Hoosier goalie to get the Tigers back into the game in the third quarter. The Tigers were down 4-1 going into the fourth quarter but managed three goals. However, the Hoosiers scored twice more and remained on top to claim the win.

Brown contributed one goal to the Princeton efforts that night, and she also won three of four sprints. McCarthy had six saves and one steal in goal, while overall Princeton went 1-for-5 of its 6-on-5 opportunities.

"Our defense was really strong in the Indiana game," McCarthy said. "We just didn't finish the job and had a bunch of sloppy offensive turnovers."

The final day of the invitational found the Tigers facing Slippery Rock. The Rock could do little to stop the Tigers' onslaught. With a final score of 18-3, 11 different members of the Princeton squad scored in the game.

Freshman center Samantha Shaughnessy racked up three goals and three steals for the Tigers, while freshman driver Danielle Carlson added two goals and four steals. Lister stayed in goal for the Tigers, boasting six saves in four quarters. The Tigers went 5-for-6 on their 6-on-5s.

The final match of the weekend for the Tigers was against Hartwick, a game that remained close well into the fourth quarter. The score was tied in the final minute of play when the Hawks scored another goal to go up by one on the Tigers. Hartwick sealed the deal with one more goal as time ran out.

Get the best of the ‘Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

Colgan led the Tigers in scoring against Hartwick with four goals, while Brown scored the remaining three. McCarthy made five saves while in goal, and the Tigers went 4-for-6 on its 6-on-5s.