On Friday night, Princeton (13-9 overall, 2-2 Collegiate Water Polo Association) took on Iona (15-5) and lost in dramatic fashion.
Leading 5-4 going into the fourth quarter, the Tigers surrendered two goals in the final frame — the second of which came with 23 seconds remaining in the game — and were unable to score themselves.
The Tigers raced to a 3-0 first quarter lead but were stymied in the second quarter. Iona clawed its way back with three goals of its own, tying the game by halftime.
Coming out of the break, Princeton reasserted its dominance in outscoring Iona 2-1 in the third period. But Princeton could not hang on to its lead.
Senior utility Carolina Ardila, junior utility Phoebe Champion, sophomore utility Lauren Brunner, senior utility Claire Jacobson and sophomore utility Tanya Wilcox all scored goals in the loss. Sophomore goaltender Christina Michel played the first half and notched five saves while giving up three goals. Freshman Kristen Ward played the second half, posting six saves while also giving up three goals.
Just 16 hours after the start of the Iona game, Princeton squared off with league opponent Bucknell (15-11, 2-1) in the first water polo game ever televised on ESPNU.
The Tigers fell into an early hole and were down 7-3 during the third quarter.
Despite scoring three consecutive goals to close the gap to 7-6 with three minutes, five seconds remaining, the Tigers could not catch the Bisons, eventually falling 9-7.
Princeton’s first goal came when Brunner cashed in on a five-meter goal at 7:01 in the first period. Bucknell answered by capitalizing on a six-on-five opportunity when driver Shana Palencia scored at 6:24.
Utility Kandis Canonica and driver Aubrey Rowe also added goals for the Bison before the end of the quarter, opening up a 3-1 Bucknell lead.
In the second quarter, the teams traded goals. Bucknell center forward Valentina Rozas made the score 4-1 early in the period before freshman driver Cayley Bowles scored Princeton’s second goal of the afternoon.
Junior utility Helen Meigs closed the gap to 4-3 after solid ball movement created a good scoring opportunity for the Orange and Black.
Bucknell responded when driver Hallie Kennan made it 5-3 with 2:42 left in the period on another man-advantage opportunity.
Princeton also had a man-advantage chance of its own late in the quarter, but a bad pass resulted in a turnover and a fast-break opportunity that Palencia capped with her second goal of the day. The Bison led 6-3 at halftime.
Bucknell wasted little time in getting on the board after the break, scoring at 7:30 into the third.
But the Tigers refused to surrender. Meigs saw a blistering shot bounce off the forearm of Bucknell goalie Brittany Connell before Champion fired a laser beam that Connell leapt out of the water to grab.
Connell stymied Meigs once more with four minutes left in the quarter.
Less than a minute later, Meigs and Champion solved Connell. Meigs found Champion open in front of the goal, and Champion slickly delivered a behind-the-back shot into the net.
And with 12 seconds remaining in the period, Champion found Brunner, who scored her second goal of the game on a man-up chance.
Early in the fourth quarter, the goalies were on fire. Connell blocked consecutive close-range shots from Wilcox and Jacobson, while Ward made consecutive saves in the fifth minute to keep the Tigers in the game.
Princeton cut Bucknell’s lead to one when sophomore driver Sarah Hutchinson snagged a long pass on a fast break and swam to the goal for a one-on-one with Connell. Hutchison found the net, and the score was 7-6 with 3:05 remaining in the game.
But the Bison had enough. Palencia scored with 1:45 left in the game to make it 8-6, and Rowe cashed in on a five-meter shot with 1:11 left to put the game away for good.
Meigs scored on a man-up chance with 25 seconds to play, bringing the final score to 9-7.
Meigs finished with two goals and two assists. Brunner finished with two goals while Champion added a point and an assist. Ward finished with seven saves for the Tigers.
On Saturday, the Tigers regained their winning ways with a 13-5 victory over George Washington (5-17, 0-4).
Princeton started fast and entered the locker room at halftime with a 7-2 advantage over the Colonials.
The Tigers extended their lead to 11-3 after three quarters of play and then iced the victory with two more goals in the final stanza.
Princeton hosts Wagner this Thursday before a rematch with Bucknell on Friday night in Lewisburg, Pa.
The Tigers will then close their regular season at home Saturday afternoon against Maryland.
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