Princeton beats GW, Maryland

The women's water polo team (23-7 overall, 8-0 College Water Polo Association Southern) faced an unusual obstacle to success when it hit the pool Saturday in its first game of the day against George Washington (11-12, 4-3). Princeton often finds itself competing against top teams with strong players, but for this matchup, the most daunting threat on the field was not any player but the pool itself.

"The pool is shallow on one side and deep on the other," sophomore driver Danielle Carlson said. "The goalie can stand on the bottom."

The Tigers overcame the hurdle, pulling away for a 12-10 victory thanks to sophomore utility Elyse Colgan's three fourth-quarter goals. In the early going, though, the shallow pool made things difficult for Princeton.

Generally, players must tread water throughout a match. But when a pool has a shallow end, the goalie and field players are able to stand in that portion of the pool. Players are not supposed to push off of the bottom of the pool to gain advantage during play, though. This new playing dynamic completely changes the tempo of the game.

The Tigers had some trouble adjusting to the unfamiliar pool situation at first. Princeton had beaten the Colonials handily, 8-4, earlier this season at Bucknell's normally configured pool. This time, though, the Tigers found themselves tied with GW at the end of the third period before Colgan's late goals — she scored six on the day — helped them pull away.

Princeton then made a short trek to College Park, Md., where the Tigers waltzed to a 17-6 victory over the Terrapins (10-15, 2-5 ).

As with the GW game, the Tigers entered the game with high expectations.

"We played both teams last year, and we knew that we were supposed to beat them," Carlson said. "With games like that, we always try to keep our level of play high."

Princeton took the reins from the get-go with six unanswered goals in the first quarter. At the half, the Tigers confidently held a 9-3 edge.

Maryland's women's water polo program is only in its second season and never posed a threat to the established water polo team.

"They're pretty inexperienced," junior driver Megan Donahue said. "They didn't really have any particular strengths."

The Terrapins' defense also missed injured junior goalie Marissa Corwin, a former Berkeley player, who was Maryland's steal leader last season.

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Princeton capitalized on the young Maryland program with a blow out final score of 17-6. Sophomore driver Anne-Lise Maag and Colgan led the Tigers offensively with three goals apiece, and sophomore goalie Shannon DeVore made five saves in the cage. Surprisingly, senior goalie Madeline McCarthy played the field for some of the game and notched two in the contest. Princeton again boasted the depth of its offense with a total of 10 different players scoring in the contest.

Practice makes perfect

The Tigers' strong offensive production results from specific steps Princeton has taken recently in practice. The Tigers have continued to focus on their six-on-five advantages to generate goals.

"We've been working on different defenses that other teams were running against us," Carlson said.

Princeton has run many types of defense in practice including regular, gap and storm defenses. By practicing offensive patterns against these defenses, the Tigers are better prepared for games. Princeton's strong counterattacks in the two weekend games reflected this defensive conditioning.

The Tigers now boast an eight-game winning streak dating back to the final two games of the team's spring break road trip. Carlson largely attributes the team's cohesive play to the high level of play Princeton faced during that trip.

The Tigers have many more preseason regulations than their West Coast competitors, which gets the team off to a slower start at the beginning of the season. The high level of West Coast play, though, sparked the team and allowed Princeton to find its current winning groove.

Princeton finished its CWPA Southern conference regulars season undefeated and will enter the Southern Championships as the team to beat on April 23 and 24.