Tigers open season with weekend split

No. 19 Princeton (2-2 overall) started the year strong Saturday afternoon after a definitive 12-1 win against Siena (0-4) but dropped a tough 11-6 loss to undefeated No. 6 San Diego State (10-0) later that evening. Sunday afternoon, the Tigers struggled against No. 15 Michigan (5-7), falling 9-5 after a disappointing fourth-quarter shutout. The Princeton team regrouped later that evening, however, defeating Harvard (2-2) 14-10 to finish the invitational on a positive note.

Despite their two losses, the Tigers continuously created offensive opportunities for themselves, indicating they are a talented and deep team. A lack of communication and some mental errors, however, often prevented those opportunities from becoming goals.

“It was a good early-season test, it was just a little frustrating,” head coach Luis Nicolao said. “We made some mental mistakes that cost us some goals, and we didn’t finish as well as we would have liked.”

The Tigers worked their offense well against Siena, taking an early 5-1 lead in the first quarter and extending it to 8-1 at the end of the first half. Freshman utility Tanya Wilcox had three goals, with junior utility Claire Jacobson, sophomore center defender Lauren Sabb and freshman driver Sarah Hutchison each adding two goals in the win. Senior goalie Natalie Kim had five saves in the first half, followed by three saves by freshman goalie Christina Michel in the second half.

Saturday evening, Princeton squared off against No. 6 San Diego State, a West Coast water polo powerhouse. The Tigers fell behind early as the Aztecs converted two six-on-five opportunities during the first minutes of the game. Offensively, the Princeton squad relied heavily on the driving positions, as no individual stepped up at set during the first half. San Diego ran an impressive drop defense on two-meters, stopping most offensive attacks during the first half. With one minute, 43 seconds left in the first half, sophomore utility Helen Meigs started the Princeton offensive with a steal, which led to some confusion from the Aztecs, ending in an ejection with a Princeton advantage.

The Princeton squad quickly set up a four-two offense, working the ball around the cage, and a brilliant pass from the three position to Sabb at the right post led to a goal for the Tigers to make the score 7-3 at the end of the second quarter.

Princeton fought hard during the third quarter but was shut out by the San Diego defense. The Tigers outscored the Aztecs in the fourth but were unable to close the first-half deficit. Jacobson had three goals in the match, while Wilcox, Sabb and freshman utility Sierra Schelegle each added goals.

“We played pretty well. It’s a learning process,” Kim said. “SDSU is a very good team, and we’ll have an opportunity to come across them later in the season. Right now it’s about learning to come together as a team since we have a new team, and this is all part of the learning process.”

After a tough loss to the Aztecs, Princeton looked to fight back in its game against Michigan on Sunday afternoon. A game full of turnovers due to shot-clock violations and a slow Tiger start, however, ended in a tough 9-5 loss.

With the Tigers trailing 4-2 at the end of the first, both teams were held at a standstill for 15 minutes, as tough defensive play kept the second quarter scoreless. In an offensive fury during the third, Princeton came back to within one of the Wolverines but was unable to complete the comeback, as Michigan responded with a goal of its own to end the third with a 7-5 lead.

During the fourth, brilliant defense by the Wolverines held back the Tigers, and two goals early in the frame clinched the game for Michigan.

With two losses under its belt, the Tigers made the necessary corrections later in the afternoon against Harvard, surging to an 8-4 lead that they would hold for the rest of the game. Meigs and Jacobson led the team with three goals apiece, followed by Sabb and Wilcox with two each.

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“We did some good things offensively, but we didn’t put the ball away,” Nicolao said. “We just need to do a better job finishing.”

Despite the losses, the tough games gave Princeton an opportunity to test its new class and to prepare the team for league play in the upcoming weeks. The Orange and Black will hope to improve its communication in its upcoming home game against Wagner (0-2) tomorrow at 8 p.m.

The Seahawks also participated in the Princeton Invitational on Saturday and fell to Harvard 14-13. The Tigers will need to focus their defensive efforts on Wagner’s junior attack Nicole Maichrowicz, who scored six goals in the matchup with the Crimson.