CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Kayla Yelensky (Jr., Stamford, Conn./Greenwich Academy) scored four times and goalkeeper Lindsey Lucas (So., Ordina, Calif./Miramonte) stopped six shots to share Player of the Game recognition as defending Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Champion/No. 11-ranked Princeton University exploited 3-2 and 1-0 scoring advantages in the second and fourth quarters, respectively, to outrun No. 24 Brown University, 9-7, in the second semifinal at the 2024 CWPA Championship.
Competing at Harvard University’s Blodgett Pool, Princeton (22-6, 10-0 CWPA) punches the program’s ticket to the 2024 CWPA Championship title tilt against longtime nemesis/No. 13 the University of Michigan at Noon Eastern/9:00 a.m. Pacific on Sunday, April 28.
The Tigers – who are 2-0 against the Wolverines (10-8 W at Princeton on March 2; 12-9 W at Bucknell University on April 6) this year – are making their 26th appearance at the CWPA Championship and have advanced to the tournament every year since becoming a varsity program in 1997 with one exception. The squad missed 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic after the 2020 championship/season was cancelled.
The 2000, 2012, 2013, 2015 and 2023 CWPA Champion Tigers will make their 12th title game appearance as Princeton fell to Indiana University (11-10 L in 2014 at Bucknell University), Hartwick College (8-6 L in 2007 at Princeton), Brown (11-10 L OT SD in 2001 at Brown) and Michigan (5-4 L in 2017 at Indiana; 11-8 L in 2018 at Bucknell; 10-6 L in 2019 at Brown), while claiming the 2000 (6-4 W vs. University of Massachusetts at Princeton), 2012 (6-5 W vs. University of Maryland at Brown), 2013 (7-5 W at Michigan), 2015 (7-6 W vs. Indiana at Princeton) and 2023 (12-8 W vs. Harvard at Princeton) crowns.
Brown (16-16, 4-6 CWPA) slips into the Third Place game at 10:00 a.m. Eastern/7:00 a.m. Pacific against No. 20 Harvard University – which fell to Michigan by a 12-7 score in the first semifinal.
The Bears are guaranteed to notch their seventh Top Four since 2000 with prior first (2001), second (2003), fourth (2004, 2009, 2012, 2022), fifth (2000, 2007, 2008, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2019, 2023), sixth (2002, 2010, 2018), seventh (2005, 2016, 2017) and ninth (2011) place marks at the CWPA Championship.
Princeton never trailed against Brown as the duo of Ava Houlahan (So., Laguna Beach, Calif./Laguna Beach) (6:41) and Yelensky (4:52, 3:19) tickled the twine for a 3-0 lead less than five minutes into the game.
Cleo Washer (Fr., Laguna Beach, Calif./Laguna Beach) and Hanna Tidrenczel (Fr., Budapest, Hungary/Korosi Csoma Sandor Bilingual Baptist) snapped the Tigers’ terrors by torquing balls into the cage at 2:58 and 2:05, respectively, to move Brown within one at 3-2. Madeleine Poissonnier (So., Tustin, Calif./Foothill) completed the comeback for Bruno by slipping a shot past Lucas with 23 ticks left on the quarter clock for a three-all tie after eight minutes of back-and-forth action.
The Tigers regained the lead 65 seconds into the second quarter as Shanna Davidson (So., Huntington Beach, Calif./Los Alamitos) swished a shot with 6:55 until halftime to put Princeton ahead 4-3. Yelensky padded the margin to 5-3 via a penalty shot at 5:21, but Aubrie Anderson (Fr., Newport Beach, Calif./Corona Del Mar) responded with a penalty shot of her own 30 seconds later (4:51) to keep Brown within striking distance at 5-4.
Both teams connected for solo markers over the remainder of the first half as Davidson (2:17) and Gaby Montalvo (Fr., Miami, Fla./Gulliver Prep) (1:54) flushed shots to make it 6-5 in favor of Princeton after 16 minutes.
The second half saw both teams lock down on defense and grind out the contest.
Tidrenczel evened the damage at six-all 58 seconds (7:02) into the third quarter prior to Kate Mallery (Jr., Stanford, Calif./Henry M. Gunn) (6:26, man-up) and Tidrenczel (4:23, penalty shot) delivering for Princeton and Brown, respectively, as the Tigers saw their contract (6-6), expand (7-6) and shrink to a seven-all deadlock.
Tied with the Bears with the specter of either overtime and/or potential last minute heroics on the table, it was the tandem of Yelensky and Lucas who stepped into the breach to pull out victory for Princeton.
Yelensky returned the lead to the Tigers with the game-winning goal at the 2:25 mark of the third quarter by rifling in a man-up opportunity to push Princeton ahead 8-7.
The 2024 CWPA regular season Most Valuable Player, Lucas backstopped her team to the win by turning aside three shots in the fourth quarter until Kaila Carroll (Sr., Greenwich, Conn./Greenwich) swished in an insurance strike with 3:18 remaining on the clock for the 9-7 final score.
For Brown, Tidrenczel finished with a hat-trick while Washer, Anderson, Montalvo and Poissonnier tacked on solo markers. Roxanne Hazuka (So., La Jolla, Calif./La Jolla) made seven saves in taking the loss.
Yelensky (four) and Davidson (two) combined for two-thirds of Princeton’s offense with Mallery, Carroll and Houlahan each denting the back bar once to give Lucas enough offensive support to hibernate the Bears.
| 1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | – | FINAL | |
| No. 24 Brown University |
3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | – | 7 |
| No. 11 Princeton University | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | – | 9 |
| Princeton Goals: | Kayla Yelensky (4); Shanna Davidson (2); Kate Mallery; Kaila Carroll; Ava Houlahan | |||||
| Brown Goals: | Hanna Tidrenczel (3); Cleo Washer; Aubrie Anderson; Gaby Montalvo; Madeleine Poissonnier | |||||
| Saves: |
Princeton – Lindsey Lucas (6) ; Brown – Roxanne Hazuka (7) | |||||
| Exclusions: | Princeton – 5 ; Brown – 9 | |||||
| Advantage Opportunities: | Princeton – 3-for-9 ; Brown – 1-for-5 | |||||
| Sprints: | Princeton – 4-for-4 ; Brown – 0-for-4 | |||||
| Cards/Misconducts: | YC- Brown (Head coach Felix Mercado, 6:19 left in 2nd Q) | |||||
| Officials: | Stephanie Villalobos, Steve Redding | |||||
Brown University’s Hanna Tidrenczel (#13)
Princeton University’s Kate Mallery (#4) fires a shot
Brown University’s Ella Palmer (#10) closes on Princeton University’s Ava Houlahan (#14)
Princeton University’s Kayla Yelensky (#20) drives into Brown University’s Madeleine Poissonnier (#2)
