PRINCETON, N.J. — On the final day of the 2024 Princeton Invitational, the host/No. 6-ranked Tigers topped Bucknell University, 17-7, and fell in a Top 10 clash against No. 7 University of the Pacific, 12-11, to conclude the event.
In the first game of the day for Princeton, the matchup went back and forth to start off before Bucknell scored with 4:57 left in the first quarter. The Tigers refused to stay down as Logan McCarroll found the back of the net to square the squads at one-all with 3:37 on the clock.
Princeton went on a dominant run by putting up six goals in the second quarter and goalkeeper Kristóf Kovács made three saves as the Tigers pulled in front by a 7-1 score heading into halftime.
The Princeton lead grew to 15-4 by the end of the third quarter thanks to an 8-3 scoring advantage prior to Bucknell chipping the final margin down to 17-7 in the fourth quarter with a 3-2 scoring margin.
Will Garlinghouse closed out the game with the goalie cap and made three saves as Princeton went on to defeat Bucknell.
For the Tigers, Logan McCarroll finished with five goals, while George Caras, Finn LeSieur and Enrique Nuño contributed pairs of tallies. Gavin Appeldorn, Nathan Banos, Vladan Mitrovic, Gavin Molloy, Ádám Peocz and William Swart each scored once.
In cage, Kovács and Garlinghouse finished with 10 and three saves, respectively.
Facing Pacific, Mitrovic got the first goal in the second game of the day for Princeton with 5:44 remaining in the first quarter. However, the Tigers responded to knot the score at three-all by the conclusion of the opening frame and snagged an 8-4 margin prior the halftime thanks to a 5-1 scoring spurt in the second quarter.
Princeton chipped away at the lead and got within two at 10-8 to close out the third quarter.
The Tigers erased their deficit in the first three minutes of the fourth quarter as Mitrovic (7:21) and Molloy (5:17) deposited shots to even the damage at 10-all. Tas Palcza put Princeton ahead for the first time since a 4-3 lead with 7:49 left in the second quarter by lining in a shot with 3:01 to play in regulation.
However, Pacific clawed back as Reuel D’Souza (2:39) and Ori Buzaglo (1:35) balanced the scoreboard and netted the deciding factor, respectively.
For Princeton, Mitrovic (five) and Palcza (two) netted multi-goal games with McCarroll, Molloy, Peocz and Roko Pozaric tacking on solo markers in support of an 11 save effort by Kovács.
Information courtesy Princeton University Athletics Communications
