W. water polo falls to Team U.S.A.

How does it feel to go up against an Olympian?

Daunting, intimidating and scary would probably top most people's list. But ask sophomore driver Megan Donahue, who went head to head with one and scored, and you would probably get a different answer. Ask freshman driver Jazmin Brown, who beat one to the opening sprint not once but twice. Or ask junior goalie Madeline McCarthy, who stopped four of them from scoring on her net.

"It was fun," senior captain Anne Olson said. "It was the chance of a lifetime to play the best team in the world. We had nothing to lose."

The women's water polo team got its taste of Olympic competition Monday night when Princeton played host to Team U.S.A. in DeNunzio Pool as part of the national squad's 13-game collegiate tour.

Team U.S.A. returns seven players who competed on the 2000 Olympic team, adding seven new players drawn from all over the country. Under head coach Guy Baker, U.S.A. has improved from No. 8 last year to No. 1 in the world and is the favorite to win the gold medal in Athens this summer.

Not one of the 300 people sitting in DeNunzio Monday night doubted that he or she was watching the No. 1 ranked team in the world those first two quarters.

Four goals hit the back of the Tiger net before freshman driver Danielle Carlson stepped up to answer back with one of her own, giving Princeton its first appearance on the scoreboard. The first quarter ended with a dominant Team U.S.A. up, 7-1.

The second quarter didn't get any better for the Tigers, as four more goals sailed past McCarthy. These scores, combined with Princeton's inability to register any goals for itself, gave U.S.A. an 11-1 advantage with two quarters still remaining.

A lesser team might have been demoralized, but the Tigers turned things around. After a team shout of "Intensity," Princeton dove in and finally gave Team U.S.A. a run for its money.

Brown won the opening sprint to the ball to kick off the second half. After handing the ball off to a teammate, she made a run for the net in time to catch a beautiful pass and launch the ball past a defender and the goalie to give the Tigers their second goal of the game after suffering through seven unanswered goals.

"We were definitely nervous," head coach Luis Nicolao said. "Then we started feeling more comfortable. [I told them] you have nothing to lose. Try to shoot the ball. You can't score without shooting."

Team U.S.A. responded with a goal of its own, but Princeton's second possession was just as good as the first. Donahue caught a miss by freshman utility Elyse Colgan and put it into the back of the net before U.S.A. could react.

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Immediately after this goal, U.S.A. worked the ball up the pool and launched it towards Princeton's net. But McCarthy stepped up with the save, keeping the score at 12-3.

Carlson returned with the ball, charging towards U.S.A.'s net to draw a defender away from a teammate. With a clear look, Carlson rocketed the ball to Colgan. Colgan held onto it for a couple of seconds that felt like two lifetimes to fans sitting on the sidelines. Unable to contain himself, Nicolao finally exclaimed, "Shoot!" Colgan followed orders and was rewarded with the Tigers' third goal in as many possessions.

Team U.S.A.'s next attempt didn't even make it into Princeton's end of the pool. Brown stripped the ball away from an unsuspecting U.S.A. player. The Tigers quickly made the most of this turn of events as Colgan scored her second goal of the game to climb within eight at 13-5. U.S.A. would hold this lead until the end of the third quarter.

The beginning of the fourth brought with it a sign of the good things to come as Brown again beat Team U.S.A. to the opening sprint. An inspired Team U.S.A. prevented the Tigers from getting close to the net, but from way out with time almost expired, Colgan managed to skip the ball over the arm of U.S.A.'s goalie.

Princeton kept the momentum rolling with a steal by Carlson and a 6-on-5 opportunity prompted by a foul on Brown. With Team U.S.A. scoreless over last few possessions, it was almost as anxious to prevent a goal as the Tigers were to score one. Almost.

A miss by junior center Kathryn Parolin and another by Brown made it look like Team U.S.A.'s resolve was going to hold up, but U.S.A. undermined its efforts by committing another foul on Brown. The freshman still had a chance at a penalty shot, which she subsequently made to bring Princeton within seven goals at 14-7.

Gone were the lobs and errant shots seen all too often in the first and second quarters. The intensity of the crowd's cheering picked up with every pass, steal, sprint and shot – the ones that went in and the ones that didn't.

Princeton challenged Team U.S.A. goalies Jacqueline Frank and Nicolle Payne, forcing them to make saves rather than gift-wrapping the ball for them.

At the end of the game, however, no one was surprised when Team U.S.A. emerged victorious, 17-8. Princeton did manage to outscore Team U.S.A. in the second half of the game, 7-6, and Colgan tied with U.S.A.'s Thalia Munro for a game-high four goals apiece. Three of Munro's came in the first half alone.

Nicolao was pleased with his team's performance, seeing it as a good omen of more meaningful games to come.

"We came out and did a lot of good things," he said. "I'm happy with the way we played. If you can make things happen against the best team in the world, then you can do things against any team."