BERKELEY, Calif. — No. 7-ranked Princeton University returned to the Spieker Aquatics Center for a rematch against the No. 9 University of California seeking to avenge an earlier 15-10 setback against the Golden Bears on September 21 during the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Invitational. Cal, which defeated No. 1 Stanford University by a 13-11 score earlier in the weekend, was not able to keep pace with Princeton as the Tigers topped the Golden Bears, 11-9, to claim the first win in program history during the all-time series.
Roko Pozaric tacked on the first goal of the game after two minutes of play. Cal tied it up but then Princeton was off to the races. Tas Palcza converted a six-on-five advantage to put the Tigers ahead.
Enrique Nuño would go on to show off his speed and get a goal in transition before George Caras added on another in the closing seconds of the first quarter to give Princeton a 4-2 lead.
Cal matched a pair of Princeton goals in the second quarter from Pozaric and Finn LeSieur to keep things close heading into halftime.
Palcza notched back to back goals in the third frame to give the freshman his fourth hat trick of the season.
Pozaric followed that up with two goals for four in the matchup and boosted the lead to 10-6 in favor of the Tigers.
Halfway through the final quarter, Logan McCarroll widened the gap with a goal on the second chance opportunity.
The Golden Bears’ offense was sparked with a goal on a penalty shot and went on to score three in a row to make it 11-9 with 1:34 on the clock.
Missed shots and a stop from Kristóf Kovács terminated a Cal comeback and gave the Tigers the win.
Kovács ended the night with 16 saves to match his season high. Pozaric and Palcza led the Princeton offense with four and three goals goals, respectively, while Caras, LeSieur, McCarroll and Nuño each accounted for solo markers.
Information courtesy Princeton University Athletics Communications
