Princeton (12-7 overall) defeated Colorado State 11-4, Concordia 14-6, Whittier 12-4 and Chapman 14-9. The Tigers were barely edged by No. 11 Cal State Northridge, 6-5, but they had disappointing losses to then-No. 19 Cal State Bakersfield, then-No. 10 Loyola Marymount and then-No. 17 Long Beach State by scores of 10-4, 13-5 and 11-4, respectively.
Opening the week-long road trip was arguably Princeton’s best match, against Northridge on Saturday morning. The Tigers sprinted off to a great start against the Matadors, taking a 3-1 lead at the end of the first quarter with sophomore utility Lauren Brunner, senior utility Carolina Ardila and freshman center defender Audrey Zak picking up goals during three different man-advantage opportunities.
Converting on six-on-five opportunities was one of the main goals for the Tigers coming into the spring break trip, and the extra focus paid off early against the Matadors.
Northridge wasn’t about to give up, however, picking up three goals in the second frame while holding Princeton to only one goal.
The Tigers entered the second half tied at four, but they failed to take control of the contest, exchanging goals early on in the third but allowing Northridge to go up by one at the end of the frame. Tough defenses on both sides kept the teams scoreless for the last quarter, leaving the Tigers with a 6-5 loss.
Freshman goalie Kristen Ward had 11 saves, while Brunner led the way with two goals in the opening road game.
In the day’s second matchup, Princeton pounced on Colorado State, getting ahead by four through the first eight minutes of play. The Rams were only able to get one past sophomore netminder Christina Michel in the first 16 minutes, but they held the Tigers scoreless in the second quarter.
Colorado State refused to quit, putting away three goals in the first five minutes of the third quarter and coming within a goal of the Tigers. Princeton responded with its own battery of goals, putting away six unanswered goals in the game’s final 10 minutes while keeping the Rams at bay and ending the contest at 11-4.
Junior utility Phoebe Champion had a team-high three goals in the match, while Brunner notched another two along with sophomore driver Sarah Hutchison. Michel finished with six saves.
Princeton’s two matches on Sunday proved the most challenging, as the Tigers faced two top-20 opponents. The first game of the doubleheader pitted the Orange and Black against Bakersfield, which broke out early in the game to a 2-0 lead and kept the pace going, grabbing a 6-1 advantage by the end of the first half.
Princeton had no response in the last two quarters, as its three goals didn’t match the four second-half goals from the Roadrunners, who clinched the game 10-4.
Princeton took a step in the right direction in the first few minutes of the evening matchup against Loyola Marymount, leading 2-1 in the early going. The Tigers, however, were unable to shut down the Lions’ offense, as the Lions took a 5-2 lead by the end of the first frame.
The Tigers were only able to get one into the Loyola Marymount net, falling behind 9-3 at the end of the second and then 13-4 by the end of the third. Princeton kept the Lions scoreless in the final frame, but it could do little to chip into the lead they had built, falling short 13-5.
The road-trip schedule lightened up with only one ranked opponent among the four remaining. Princeton easily defeated Concordia in the Tuesday afternoon contest, starting strong and keeping the momentum going throughout the match. The Tigers led 9-1 at the half and cruised to a 14-6 win.
Wednesday evening saw the final tough matchup of the week for Princeton, with Long Beach State setting the tone early in the first quarter by taking a 5-0 lead. The 49ers never looked back and easily defeated Princeton 11-4.
The Tigers picked up wins last Thursday against Whittier and Chapman, who fared poorly against a disciplined Princeton offense. The Tigers went ahead by six in the matchup against Whittier and controlled play for the remainder of the game, finishing with a 12-4 win.
Princeton got sloppy in the first quarter of its match against Chapman, falling behind 4-3, but it quickly shaped up in the second quarter, putting away six unanswered goals and finishing the first half up 9-4. Princeton held its lead in the final 16 minutes of play, finishing with a 14-9 victory.
Princeton will now prepare for a non-conference match against Iona this Friday at DeNunzio Pool.
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