Women's Water Polo: East's best prove tough challenge

Princeton (8-3 overall) started the tournament Saturday evening against Hartwick with plenty of fire and intensity. The teams ended the first period tied at one, but both teams’ offenses stepped it up in the second frame, scoring five goals between them. The Tigers ended the first half ahead 4-3.

The Orange and Black failed to hold on to its momentum in the third quarter as Hartwick (8-6) capitalized on a couple of crucial Princeton turnovers. Down 6-5, the Tigers needed to take control of the final frame.

“We took over in the Hartwick game: The first half was ours,” junior utility Helen Meigs said. “Then, in the beginning of the third, we lost it, and the game was a scramble for the rest of the half.”

The Tigers came out hard in the final frame, but they couldn’t establish a rhythm. The Hawks put away another two goals in the fourth quarter, securing the 8-6 win over the Tigers.

Junior utility Phoebe Champion led the way for the Tigers with two goals, while freshman goalie Kristen Ward notched eight saves in the contest.

After the tough loss against the Hawks, Princeton hoped to turn things around against Michigan (11-8), the top-ranked team east of the Rocky Mountains.

The Tigers failed to bring any intensity, however, trailing 5-1 at the end of the first period and 8-3 by the end of the first half.

“We let them get up from the beginning by three goals, and after that, we just lost our intensity,” senior utility and co-captain Claire Jacobson said. “We also need to work on stopping their offense the entire shot-clock possession and not just let up in the last five seconds for an easy goal.”

Princeton did little to respond in the second half, falling another two goals behind the Wolverines in the third period and failing to get anything going on offense. The Tigers only managed two more goals through the rest of the game, and they ultimately fell to Michigan 12-5.

Senior utility Carolina Ardila spearheaded the Princeton offense with three goals, while sophomore goalie Christina Michel posted 10 saves in the loss.

The Tigers rebounded in their final match of the weekend, topping Harvard (5-6) on Sunday. With an early offensive outburst, Princeton pulled away to a 5-2 lead at the end of the first half of play, and the Tigers never looked back. The Orange and Black added another eight goals in the second half, cruising home to a 13-6 victory.

Champion once again led the Tigers with six goals, a personal best in collegiate competition and the most scored by a Tiger in a game since the 2006-07 season. Ward picked up 14 saves in the win.

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Though this weekend of play was the toughest for the Tigers so far this season, it will only get tougher for them as they prepare for a trip to California, the water polo capital of the world. Before the trip, however, the team will try to focus on improving certain aspects of its game.

Meigs said she believes that there are integral pieces of the puzzle that the Tigers must work on in order to improve.

“We need to improve our finishing and our six-on-five offense,” Meigs said. “Hands down those are two aspects of our game that are bringing us down to teams that we match in skill and strength.”

Princeton will have the weekend off to prepare for their eight-game road trip, which includes matchups against No. 9 Loyola Marymount (LMU), No. 12 Cal State Northridge and No. 17 Cal State Bakersfield. All of these matchups will take place at the LMU Invitational.