SAN DIEGO - The 11th-ranked UC San Diego women's water polo team concluded the Aztec Invitational, hosted by San Diego State, with two wins over No. 14 Princeton and No. 18 Harvard, Saturday at Aztec Aquaplex. The Tritons defeated the Tigers 9-8 and the Crimson 10-7.
UCSD went a perfect 4-0 at the Aztec Invite and have won 11 straight games for an 18-6 overall record. With the loss, Princeton is 9-2. Harvard drops to 12-4 overall.
GAME ONE - UC San Diego 9, Princeton 8
The Tritons were able to hold off a late surge from the Tigers to win, 9-8.
UCSD fell behind early as Princeton scored the first three goals for a 3-0 lead. The Tritons recovered and got two scores, one from junior center Lauren Boyer and one from senior attacker Laurel Kistler with 14 seconds remaining, to trail 3-2 at the end of the first quarter.
UCSD scored three times in the second period for a 5-4 halftime advantage. Junior two-meter defender Alexis Wieseler put away two goals in the period.
The Tritons put away four in the third frame with two from Kistler and one each from Wieseler and senior attacker Julia Kirkland. The Tigers scored twice as UCSD led by three, 9-6, with eight minutes remaining.
The Tritons were held scoreless in the final quarter. Princeton had two goals, but could not score a third time to tie the game as UCSD escaped with the win.
Kistler and Wieseler both recorded hat tricks with three goals each. Senior goalie Courtney Miller had nine saves. Emily Smith was the Tigers' top scorer with three goals.
GAME TWO - UC San Diego 10, Harvard 7
The Tritons used a strong first half en route to a 10-7 win against the Crimson.
UCSD was able to get a two score advantage early, but Harvard was able to get a goal with 21 seconds left in the first quarter as the Tritons led 3-2 at the end of the period. The UCSD scores came from sophomore utility Kayla Fedler, Kistler and Boyer.
The Tritons shut out the Crimson in the second period, 3-0, with goals coming from Fedler, Kirkland and Wieseler. UCSD took a 6-2 lead at halftime.
UCSD was outscored 5-4 in the second half, but were able to lean back on its four-goal first half lead to hang on for the win. Fedler put away two in the third period to complete her hat trick.
Fedler led the Tritons with three goals. Kistler and Wieseler pitched in two each. Miller compiled 11 saves. Yoshi Anderson and Kristen Hong led Harvard with two scores each.
"I'm proud of the team's resilience," said head coach Brad Kreutzkamp. "The team fell behind in three straight games to come back for wins in all three. The east coast teams we played were tough and talented and we had to fight for the wins."
The Tritons will have exactly a week off before facing perennial powerhouse and defending national champion Stanford on Sunday, March 20 at 12 p.m.
GAME ONE
UCSD 2 3 4 0 - 9
PU 3 1 2 2 - 8
Goals
UCSD: Laurel Kistler 3, Alexis Wieseler 3, Lauren Boyer 2, Julia Kirkland 1
PU: Emily Smith 3, Chelsea Johnson 2, Haley Wan 1, Morgan Hallock 1, Lindsey Kellenber 1
Saves
UCSD: Courtney Miller 9
PU: Helena Van Brande 3
GAME TWO
UCSD 3 3 2 2 - 10
HU 2 0 2 3 - 7
Goals
UCSD: Kayla Fedler 3, Laurel Kistler 2, Alexis Wieseler 2, Julia Kirkland 1, Chanel Schilling 1, Lauren Boyer 1
HU: Yoshi Anderon 2, Kristen Hong 2, Melissa Balding 1, Charlotte Hendrix 1, Colby Stapleton 1
Saves
UCSD: Courtney Miller 11
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