PRINCETON, N.J. -Â In a battle of nationally-ranked squads, the No. 15 UC San Diego women's water polo team lost a pair of games Saturday at the Princeton Winter Tournament, falling to the host and 16th-ranked Tigers by a single goal, 11-10, before dropping a 15-9 decision to No. 17 Wagner.
With the two losses, UC San Diego falls to 2-4 overall in 2023.
HOW IT HAPPENED - PRINCETON
In a competitive contest between UC San Diego and Princeton, the Tigers scored the game-winning goal with just 25 seconds left on the clock.
Princeton jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first six minutes of the game, two of those goals coming from Jovana Sekulic. The Tigers out-scored the Tritons 4-2 in the frame.
UC San Diego turned the tables in the second quarter, scoring four times and holding Princeton to just one goal. Finding the net were
Kendall Thomas,
Courtney Okumura,
Caroline Christl, and
Annika Arroyo. The four goals had the Tritons leading 6-5 going into halftime.
Sekulic opened the second half with a goal just a minute in, but that was quickly answered by
Lucia Doak, who put UC San Diego back on top, 7-6. Thomas scored again at the 4:59 mark to give the Tritons a two-goal cushion. However, the Tigers scored the next three goals to move ahead, 9-8. Arroyo tallied another goal to tie it at 9-9, and, following a Princeton goal, Doak found the net to tie it yet again at 10-10 with 3:52 remaining in the fourth quarter. Doak's score came on a 5-meter penalty shot.
The stage was set for Seculic, whose fourth goal of the game in the waning seconds was the deciding factor.
Lexi Stahl established a new career-high with 14 saves in net for the Tritons.
HOW IT HAPPENED - WAGNER
Wagner never trailed in the game. The Seahawks jumped on it early, scoring the first two goals of the game and securing a 4-1 lead by the end of the first quarter.Â
With three goals in the second quarter, Wagner led 7-2 at halftime.
UC San Diego's pair of first-half goals were scored byÂ
Annika Arroyo and
Kendall Thomas, with both of them coming on power plays.Â
The Tritons caught a spark in the third quarter, netting five goals from Thomas,
Courtney Okumura, Arroyo,
Maja Layden, and Thomas again. However, the Seahawks tallied four goals of their own in the third and were ahead, 11-7, going into the fourth quarter.
Wagner bettered its first quarter opening by scoring three-consecutive goals to start the fourth.
Allison Bartholomew and
Grayson Mix each had a goal for the Tritons, but it wasn't enough to get back in it.Â
Thomas compiled a hat trick in the game. She also added an assist to finish with four points. Okumura assisted on two goals to total three points. Stahl made 10 saves in the game.
WHAT HEAD COACH BRAD KREUTZKAMP HAD TO SAY
"Regarding the Princeton game, I was disappointed that we dug ourselves a three-goal hole right at the beginning, but I was beyond proud of the effort to come back and take the lead. It was a tough loss in the last seconds of the game, but we learned a lot."
The game against Wagner was far more disappointing, but I can't take anything away from them as they shot the ball very well. We made our own mistakes and dug a hole again, however this one we just couldn't climb out of."
"We're looking forward to a new day tomorrow as well as trying to get better every day."
UP NEXT
UC San Diego plays two more games at Princeton Sunday, taking on Bucknell (5 a.m. Pacific) and No. 22 LIU Brooklyn (8 a.m. Pacific).
About UC San Diego Athletics
After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program began a new era in 2020 as a member of The Big West in NCAA Division I. The 23-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions III and II and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 83 Tritons have earned Academic All-America accolades, while 38 have received prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships. UC San Diego scholar-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world's preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 90 percent, the highest rate among NCAA Division I and II institutions.
