SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The No. 19-ranked Princeton University Tigers secured a split during day two of the University of California-Santa Barbara Winter Invitational by felling Iona College 12-9, and dropping a 15-14 nail-biter to the host/No. 18 Gauchos.
Tied at seven-all versus Iona, the Tigers scored three of the next four goals to take an 11-8 lead with 4:56 remaining in the contest. Fresh off a six-goal performance yesterday, Jovana Sekulic scored twice during the four-goal surge to finish with four markers in the contest. The Tigers kept the Gaels at distance the rest of the way to secure the victory.
Princeton ran out with five of the first six in the first quarter while a 4-1 push by Iona set the contest at 6-5 at halftime. The two teams exchanged tallies before the game was tied at seven.
Facing the homestanding Gauchos, Princeton fell via a goal in the closing second as UC-Santa Barbara’s Leigh Lyter’s put away a shot with two ticks left for the difference in a back-and-forth affair. The fourth quarter featured 11 goals and four lead changes before the final tally.
The Tigers started the contest with three of the first four tallies before UC-Santa Barbara rallied to tie the game. Kaila Carroll’s tally gave the Tigers a 4-3 lead after eight minutes. Princeton held a 6-4 advantage at the break.
Head coach Derek Ellingson‘s squad led by as many as three in the third stanza before consecutive goals by UCSB set the score at nine-all as the fourth quarter got underway.
Release courtesy Princeton University Athletics Communications
