Princeton University
Gannon
Players Mentioned
Strong Second Half Helps Men's Water Polo Pull Away From Gannon, 17-8
November 07, 2014 | Men's Water Polo
PRINCETON, N.J. – The ninth-ranked Princeton University men's water polo team opened play at the 2014 CWPA Southern Championship with a 17-8 win over Gannon University.
Extending their win streak to eight games, the Tigers improved to 19-3 on the season and 12-0 all-time against the Golden Knights. Princeton returns to action at 3:20 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 8 against the first-place finisher of the 'D' Bracket.
Jumping out to an early lead, the Orange and Black netted a pair of goals in the game's first three minutes. Continuing to push forward, the Tigers created several quality scoring chances in the latter stages of the opening period, but a Jovan Jeremic shot that veered wide right and a late try that rattled off of the near post kept the score at 2-0.
Trimming the Princeton lead, Gannon got on the board just 1:54 into the second quarter. Wasting little time with a response, Curtis Fink carved out open space on the left side before tucking a shot inside the back post. With 5:12 to go in the half, Jordan Colina slipped a pass to Kayj Shannon to make it 4-1. Just 33 seconds later, Drew Hoffenberg got into the act, netting the Tigers' third-straight score.
After a pair of Gannon goals cut the visitors' deficit to 5-3, Shannon struck again, finding the back of the opposing net with less than a minute remaining in the half. Coming right back, the Golden Knights capped off a flurry of action with a late score of their own, paring the Princeton lead to 6-4.
Capitalizing on a Gannon penalty, Hoffenberg opened the second half scoring with a goal at the 5:49 mark of the period. Just 20 seconds later, Sam Butler linked up with Shannon, setting up the senior's third tally of the afternoon. With 4:15 on the clock, Butler caught a pass in front before quickly turning and ripping a shot into the cage to make it 9-4.
Up 12-6 at the start of the fourth quarter, Eric Bowen corralled a rebound in front of the Gannon net before backhanding a try into the cage at 6:43. After the Golden Knights pulled back within six inside of the six-minute mark, Jeremic and Bowen came up with back-to-back goals to push the margin back up to 15-7.
Shannon led the Tigers with four goals, while Hoffenberg had three goals, four assists and two steals. Jamie Kuprenas dished out four helpers, while Colina went 3-0 on sprints with two goals and two steals. Jeremic and Bowen also had a pair of scores, while Hinrichs and Connor McGoldrick paced Princeton with three steals apiece. Vojislav Mitrovic made six saves, while Alex Gow had two stops in one quarter of action.
Goals: Shannon 4, Hoffenberg 3, Jeremic 2, Colina 2, Bowen 2,
Zhang 1, Fink 1, Butler 1, Hinrichs 1
Assists: Kuprenas 4, Hoffenberg 4, Colina 1, Wachtell 1, Butler 1, McGoldrick 1
Steals: Hinrichs 3, McGoldrick 3, Colina 2, Wachtell 2, Hoffenberg 2,
Nelson 1, Kuprenas 1, Fink 1, Butler 1, Jeremic 1, Bowen 1
Ejections Drawn: Bowen 3, Hoffenberg 3, Wachtell 1, Shannon 1, Hinrichs 1, McGoldrick 1
Blocks: Nelson 1
Sprints: Colina 3-0, Jeremic 0-1
Saves: Mitrovic 6, Gow 2