Women's Water Polo: Tigers win at GW, edged by Maryland in league games

“This was our first really difficult game of the season, and Maryland has had multiple weekends of play,” senior center defender and co-captain Liz Dilday said.“Their level of aggression was a lot, especially compared to what we were used from the first couple of games. It was very intense, and it took us by surprise.”

Princeton found itself down two goals early in the first frame after it made simple defensive errors and gave up a costly five-meter penalty-shot opportunity. The Tigers responded with two goals, and the first period ended with the Orange and Black only down 3-2.

The Terrapins, who have already played several of the top-ranked California teams this season, brought a level of aggression to the game that the Tigers failed to match. Maryland pressed the perimeter for most of the game, forcing Princeton to change strategies several times.

Both teams exchanged goals during the second period, but the Tigers brought the score to within one by the end of the first half.

Princeton tied the game at seven late in the third quarter, but Maryland put two between the posts by the end of the period. Maryland converted on all seven of its six-on-five opportunities in the game, exposing a weakness in the Princeton defense.

The Tigers, who for the most part have played low-ranking opponents this season, trailed through the entire match.

“The Maryland game wasn’t our best showing. We came out slow and a little sloppy on defense to give them an early lead,” junior driver Helen Meigs said. “If anything, this game was a great learning experience, because we have a concrete list of things to improve on, something we weren’t able to do from our earlier games this season.”

Sophomore utility Lauren Brunner and junior utility Phoebe Champion led the Tigers with three goals each. Freshman Kristen Ward and sophomore Christina Michel split the time between the pipes, posting four saves each.

Earlier in the day, facing a young GW team, Princeton had trouble controlling the tempo of play. While the Colonials should have had a home-pool advantage — as the teams were playing in GW’s unusually shallow pool — Princeton used constant movement and a continuous drive offense to neutralize that advantage.

The Tigers went up 5-2 after the first frame and extended their lead by three while shutting out the Colonials in the second quarter. Entering the second half up 8-2, Princeton continued its strong defensive play and kept the colonials scoreless in the third quarter.

“Knowing that [GW] is at the bottom of the league, it’s easy to go in with the wrong attitude,” Meigs said. “But everyone was focused from the very beginning, and we didn’t let the conditions of the facility mess with our intensity. We never gave them a chance to get into the game.”

With only one senior graduating from the team last year, there has been an interesting dynamic for the freshmen this season.

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“Our frosh are fitting in solidly, and everyone has contributed in different ways, and it has left us with more variety and depth than [in the] past year,” Meigs said. “They have great work ethic and intensity during practice … and I know this will pay off as the season progresses.”

The Tigers will prepare for the annual Princeton Invitational, hosted at DeNunzio Pool, this coming weekend. The Orange and Black will face four opponents, including Ivy League rivals Harvard and Brown.