LOS ANGELES, Calif. — The No. 14-ranked Princeton University Tigers earned a split during day one of the Loyola Marymount Invitational by earning a win over the California State University-East Bay Pioneers, 12-7, before losing to the No. 19 San Jose State University Spartans, 11-9, at the Burns Aquatic Center.
Facing CSU-East Bay and trailing 5-2 at the 1:06 mark of the first quarter, the Tigers countered with the last two tallies of the frame to close within one, 5-4. Eliza Britt‘s goal 47 seconds into the second stanza tied the score before Amy Castellano put the Tigers ahead for good with under five minutes to go in the first half. The Tigers eventually went into halftime with an 8-5 advantage.
Head coach Derek Ellingson‘s group scored three more times in the third quarter to take a commanding 11-5 lead. The Tigers shut out the Pioneers for more than 18 minutes of game action after falling behind. Marissa Webb finished with 14 saves total including 10 during the shutout streak. By the time, Cal-State East Bay scored in the fourth quarter, it trailed by five goals. Annie Robinson‘s tally wrapped up the scoring for the Tigers.
In the day’s finale against San Jose State, Britt got off to a quick start, scoring the first two tallies of the game. Princeton held a 2-1 advantage after eight minutes. The two squads exchanged goals before San Jose State’s Olga Descalzi Portell tied the contest at the 3:53 mark of the second frame. The Spartans pushed ahead with consecutive goals (5-3) before Kailie McGeoy and Britt retied the contest at 5-all with 47 seconds remaining. Mala Godinez‘s goal right before the buzzer put the Spartans on top, 6-5, at the intermission.
San Jose State continued to extend its advantage, jumping in front by four, 9-5, leading to a Princeton timeout (5:24). The Tigers got as close as two, but the Spartans took a 10-7 margin into the fourth stanza. Castellano’s tally with 2:50 to go put Ellingson’s unit within one (10-9), but the Spartans answered 29 seconds later. The Tigers could not put together another rally and dropped the contest.
Release courtesy Princeton University Athletics Communications
