Beckmann dominates with 67 goals and 41 steals

With a bevy of underclassmen stepping up to fill the offensive void left by Elyse Colgan ’07 — the second-leading scorer in Tiger history — the women got their season off on the right foot with a 12-1 pasting of Siena at DeNunzio Pool and never looked back. The Tigers marched to a 20-11 overall record, including a 4-2 record and a championship in the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Southern Division.

Highlights of Princeton’s early-season play included a three-game sweep at the Maryland Invitational in February and a double dose of last-second heroism at the Aztec Invitational in San Diego, Calif. On March 15, freshman driver Lauren Brunner provided the Tigers with game-winning goals in back-to-back games, including Princeton’s finest victory of the season. Brunner first found the net with 11 seconds left on the clock to lift Princeton over California State-Bakersfield, 10-9, then pushed the Tigers past No. 15 UC-San Diego, 5-4, with a clutch goal in triple overtime.

Princeton’s next two wins over a ranked opponent both came against Southern Division rival Bucknell. The Tigers upset the Bison, 7-6, in an April 5 meeting at DeNunzio, then foiled them again in the Southern Division title game. Bucknell played host to the championship tournament, and Princeton reached the finals with a 10-4 win over Maryland in the morning. That night, the Tigers and Bison went into double overtime before sophomore utility Helen Meigs gave Princeton the 10-9 win on a buzzer-beating finish from five meters out. It was the fourth Southern crown in five seasons for the Tigers, who missed out on the 2007 title following a disappointing finals loss to Maryland.

At the CWPA Eastern Championships, Princeton had to settle for third place, ending its season with a 9-2 win over the Terrapins after its title dreams were crushed by a 7-4 semifinal loss to No. 11 Michigan.

Meigs was the orchestrator of the Tiger offense all season, posting more than twice as many assists — 52 — than any of her teammates. Princeton’s second-leading passer was sophomore utility Phoebe Champion, who was also the runner-up for the Tiger lead in goals, with 42. Sophomore center defender Lauren Sabb found the back of the net more times than any other Princeton player, notching 48 goals.

Sabb’s total pales in comparison to that of the leading scorer on the men’s side, senior utility Zach Beckmann. Beckmann connected for 67 goals over the course of his final season as a Tiger, totaling more than 30 more goals than his closest teammate. Beckmann put up these lofty numbers while maintaining a sparkling 49 percent shot percentage and contributing to Princeton’s defensive effort with 41 steals, second most on the team.

Despite Beckmann’s heroics, the Tigers had their fair share of struggles, turning in a middling 15-14 record and finishing just 3-5 in the CWPA Southern Division. Princeton got off to a scorching start in its home pool at the Princeton Invitational in early September, sweeping through its five games, including an impressive 6-4 win over No. 17 Santa Clara. With their perfect start in hand, the Tigers earned a No. 15 national ranking and seemed poised to make some serious noise in the CWPA.

In its first game away from DeNunzio, however, Princeton suffered a tough 13-12 loss to No. 12 Bucknell in sudden-death overtime. Though the Tigers would avenge that loss with a 5-4 home win over the Bison on Oct. 6, Princeton’s road woes lingered throughout the season, with the Tigers posting a frustrating 5-13 record away from DeNunzio.

Princeton picked up just two wins in a nine-game road stretch heading into the Southern Championships, and though wins against Gannon and Salem International pushed the Tigers through to the Southern semifinals, they crumpled when they took on No. 10 Navy, the tournament host. The Midshipmen handed Princeton a decisive 11-5 loss, and the Tigers went on to drop the fourth-place game, 9-8, to No. 17 Bucknell. The loss ended Princeton’s season and was the Tigers’ third defeat at the hands of the Bison on the year.

Even following his team’s struggles, Beckmann was recognized for his stellar season with a selection to the All-Southern first team. Sophomore utility Gregor Horstmeyer, who scored 25 goals to go along with a team-high 28 assists and 13 blocks, took home second-team honors.

The men’s team will surely feel Beckmann’s absence next season, but the Tigers can certainly look to the women’s team’s success as proof that one man’s graduation — even one as good as Colgan or Beckmann — will not prevent success the next year.