Princeton stumbles against ranked opponents

For the second consecutive week, the women's water polo team (4-4 overall) split a four-game tournament against the highest caliber competition in the country. This time, the Tigers competed at the Maryland Invitational in College Park, Md., where No. 17 Princeton defeated both of its unranked opponents but fell to two nationally ranked squads.

The Tigers easily sailed past Marist (5-3) and Indiana (4-7), outscoring each team by five or more goals. Princeton, however, fell to rivals No. 16 Michigan (9-3) and No. 13 Hartwick (10-7). The Wolverines edged the Tigers, 10-8, while the Hawks, the defending Eastern champions, prevailed, 7-5.

Steady senior co-captains Elyse Colgan and Karina Reyner anchored Princeton's performance, contributing a combined 16 goals.

Junior goalkeeper Natalie Kim delivered four more strong outings, with 36 saves and only 27 goals allowed. The Tiger freshmen, center defender Lauren Sabb, utility Helen Meigs and utility Phoebe Champion, continued to exceed expectations in early season play.

Princeton opened up the tournament Saturday morning against Michigan — the first meeting between the two teams since the Wolverines defeated the Tigers in the semifinal round of last year's Eastern Championships, knocking the Tigers out of contention for the title.

Saturday's match was hotly contested, with Princeton gaining a 3-2 advantage after the first quarter and a 5-4 advantage after the first half.

Michigan, which won all four of its games on the weekend relentlessly fought back. The Wolverines scored four unanswered goals in the third quarter, gaining an 8-5 lead.

In retaliation Princeton converted on two power plays late in the contest, trimming the deficit to a single point. Unfortunately it was too little too late, and Michigan won, 10-8.

For Saturday's nightcap, the Tigers battled the unranked Marist Red Foxes. Princeton shot out to an early lead following Colgan and Champion's hat tricks.

The Red Foxes climbed back into the game, coming within three at halftime. But the Tiger defense held off Marist, as Kim recorded a career-high 12 saves in the cage. Time expired with Princeton up 11-5, the team's biggest margin of victory of the 2007 season.

Senior utility players Jessica Ajoux and Jazmin Brown tallied one goal each, while Reyner, Sabb and Meigs also netted a point.

The story was much the same Sunday morning as the Orange and Black dueled with Indiana. Princeton never trailed, taking a 1-0 lead with two minutes 44 seconds remaining in the opening quarter and never looking back.

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

The Tigers extended their margin to 5-0 by the third quarter, until second half penalties allowed the Hoosiers to get on the board. Princeton was especially effective in spreading the ball against Indiana, with six Tigers contributing goals. Kim had 10 more saves, and Colgan scored three goals for the third-consecutive game as Princeton cruised to a 10-5 win.

The final game for the Tigers, against Hartwick, was also the toughest. The Hawks came into the game with a three-game winning streak, having disposed of George Washington, Bucknell and Indiana earlier in the tournament. Princeton hung tight with the Hawks through the first half, before knotting the contest at 5-5 in the middle of the third quarter. Hartwick pulled away in the final minutes, however, scoring two goals and shutting down the Tiger offense for a 7-5 victory.

Reyner was Princeton's only player with multiple scores, netting two, while Brown, Champion and Colgan each added a goal.

"Everything was great but we couldn't put the shots away," freshman utility Clare Premo said. "With more work on finishing through and taking advantage of man-ups we can beat [Michigan and Hartwick]."

The Tigers will take a break from competition next weekend before heading to Cambridge, Mass., on March 3 and 4 for the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) Championships, one of the biggest tournaments of the season.