A split weekend in pool at champs

Heading into the final round of Saturday's Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Southern Division Championships, a Princeton victory seemed all but assured. The Tigers (18-8 overall, 7-1 CWPA) had just dismantled the George Washington Colonials (6-21, 0-8), 11-2, earlier in the day and were only one win away from a fourth consecutive Southern Division title.

Princeton was on fire and, it seemed, unstoppable. That is, until it met an even hotter team — Maryland (15-16, 6-2).

The Terrapins led from the beginning of the championship match against the Tigers, until Princeton came from behind to take a 6-5 lead to start in the fourth quarter. With two seconds left in regulation and the score tied at eight, though, Maryland's Elizabeth Hopkins stunned the heavily favored Tigers with a game-winning goal.

"It was one of the toughest losses of the year," freshman center defender Lauren Sabb said.

With the 9-8 loss, Princeton was forced to settle for a runner-up finish — still enough to clinch a spot in this week's Eastern Championships.

In the Tigers' 11-2 semifinal win over George Washington, Princeton's offense performed admirably, as it has all season. But it was the defense that really stole the show for the Tigers. Ranked 28th in the nation heading into last weekend's tournament, Princeton's defense shut out George Washington in the first half.

Though the Colonials eventually got on the scoreboard, the Tigers held them to just two goals in the game — Princeton's best statistical defensive showing since last April, when it defeated Maryland 7-2.

From the very beginning of the 10 a.m. game against the Colonials, it was clear which team would ultimately prevail. The Tigers secured a 4-0 lead after the first quarter and by halftime that lead had grown to 7-0.

When Princeton dove back into the pool for the second half, that lead continued to increase. There was less scoring — the Tigers netted four shots while George Washington managed to score twice — but the result was identical: Princeton controlled the game's tempo and momentum.

"We were ready for the morning game both mentally and physically," Sabb said. "We knew that [the Colonials] weren't going to give up without a fight, so we knew that it would be both a physical and mental fight to get to the end of the game."

Sabb and senior driver Karina Reyner each had three goals in the win. Junior goalkeeper Natalie Kim made nine saves.

While the morning triumph over George Washington was one of Princeton's best games of the year, the afternoon loss to Maryland was certainly one of the team's worst. The Tigers dug themselves into an early 3-0 hole only minutes into the game. From there, it was an uphill battle for head coach Luis Nicolao's squad.

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

"The first quarter of the game, we were not mentally prepared to play the team that showed up," Sabb said. "We came out mentally flat. It was hard. It was very hard."

After the initial Terrapin onslaught, Princeton crawled back into the game, outscoring the home team 4-2 for the remainder of the first half. The halftime score was 5-4 in favor of Maryland.

The Tigers continued to rally in the second half, carrying a 6-5 lead into the final quarter. It was back-and-forth between the two teams for the rest of the game, with both squads playing with feverish intensity. The contest was knotted at eight with two minutes, 25 seconds left. The game looked ready to head in to overtime until Hopkins netted her demoralizing goal.

Sabb accounted for four goals in the game, including two clutch fourth-quarter scores, while senior utility player Elyse Colgan scored three. In the net, Kim had one of her best performances of the season. The junior recorded 13 saves on 22 shots.

Bucknell came away with third place in the tournament after losing a first-round matchup with Maryland, 14-6. George Washington finished fourth, losing both its games.

Princeton has little time to digest Saturday's heartbreaking defeat.

Next weekend, the Tigers play host to an even more important tournament — the CWPA Eastern Championships. The tournament, which includes Maryland, begins Saturday at DeNunzio Pool.