Princeton University
Stanford
Players Mentioned
No. 8 Women's Water Polo Falls to No. 2 Stanford in NCAA Quarterfinals, 7-2
May 08, 2015 | Women's Water Polo
NCAA POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE
STANFORD, Calif. – Despite an 18-save effort from standout junior goalie Ashleigh Johnson, the eighth-ranked Princeton University women's water polo team dropped a 7-2 decision to No. 2 Stanford in the NCAA Quarterfinals at the Avery Aquatic Center.
Falling to 0-4 all-time against the Cardinal, Princeton moved to 30-4 overall on the season and will face Hawaii in tomorrow's consolation round. Game time is set for 12 p.m. (PST).
Getting off to a fast start, Stanford built a 6-0 lead by the intermission. Putting in her own rebound following a Johnson save, Maggie Steffens netted the game's first goal at the 5:21 mark of the opening period. Finding the back of the net on a counter in the latter stages of the frame, Dani Jackovich doubled the lead at 1:42.
Kicking off the second quarter scoring, Kiley Neushul made it 3-0 with 7:21 on the clock. Steffens then netted back-to-back tallies before Neushul successfully converted a penalty shot to up the lead to 6-0.
Hoping to get the Princeton offense going, Taylor Dunstan rang a shot off the crossbar late in the second period. Nearing the end of the half, Ashley Hatcher backhanded a try off the right post as the Tigers headed into the break scoreless.
Keeping Princeton within striking distance, Johnson made several lunging saves at the start of the third quarter, including a stop on a Steffens penalty shot inside of the five-minute mark. Taking advantage of a Stanford exclusion with 2:08 left in the third, Dunstan put away the Tigers' first tally of the afternoon.
With Johnson continuing to hold steady in net, the Cardinal recorded their only goal of the second half on a Neushul penalty shot with 5:23 remaining in regulation. Hatcher answered with a hard shot into the top left corner of the Stanford cage with less than four minutes to play, but that was as close as Princeton would come.
The program's all-time career saves leader, Johnson finished with 18 stops to up her career total to 1,030. Also nabbing six steals, Johnson is the only Tiger to ever surpass to 1,000-save plateau.
Goals: Hatcher 1, Dunstan 1
Steals: A. Johnson 6, Hooks 1, Holechek 1, Smith 1
Ejections Drawn: Hallock 2, C. Johnson 1, Cheong 1, Smith 1
Blocks: Hooks 1, Cheong 1
Sprints: Wan 0-4
Saves: A. Johnson 18