Friday, May 12
Stockton, Calif.
9:00 PM (6:00 PM PT)
Princeton University
11
vs
9
No. 3 California
Princeton Women's Water Polo Celebrates Beating No. 3 Cal
No. 8 Women's Water Polo Advances To NCAA Semifinals In 11-9 Takedown Of No. 3 Cal
May 12, 2023 | Women's Water Polo
STOCKTON, Calif. – The No. 8 Princeton Women's Water Polo Team defeated the No. 3 California Bears, 11-9, to advance to the NCAA National Semifinals for the first time in program history on Friday evening.
Princeton will take on No. 2 USC at 10 p.m. ET (7 p.m. PT) on Saturday. The other semifinal will feature No. 1 Stanford and No. 4 UCLA.
The Tigers became the first non-West Coast school to make the Final Four since Michigan in 2016.
Rachael Carver scored on the first possession for Princeton and later came up with another tally as the clock read 2:17 to go in the first frame. Lindsey Lucas kept the Tigers in front with five stops in the first eight minutes.
Kate Mallery put the Tigers in front, 3-1, to begin the second quarter. Lucas came up with a big stop on a 5M chance before Kaila Carroll extended the lead for Princeton to three, 4-1.
Cal closed the gap to one with two consecutive goals, but Jovana Sekulic scored on a great feed from Carver to make it 5-3 with 2:33 remaining in the first half.
Mallery extended Princeton's advantage to three, 6-3, with nine seconds to go in the first half.
Tallies from Carroll and Carver (her third of the game) pushed Princeton's lead to four, 8-4, but Cal rebounded with two straight to cut the deficit in half with 2:39 left in the third stanza.
The Bears scored as time expired to end the third quarter to make it an 8-7 contest with eight minutes to go.
Kayla Yelensky scored twice to begin the fourth frame to get Princeton to double-digits with over six minutes to go. The Bears closed the gap to one with 2:30 left, but Mallery finished off a hat trick to complete the scoring. Lucas came up with two saves and a block after Mallery's tally to keep the Bears off the scoreboard.
Carver led the Tigers with three goals and three assists while Mallery also had three goals. Lucas recorded 15 stops in the win. It's the program's first victory ever over Cal in seven contests.
Princeton will take on No. 2 USC at 10 p.m. ET (7 p.m. PT) on Saturday. The other semifinal will feature No. 1 Stanford and No. 4 UCLA.
The Tigers became the first non-West Coast school to make the Final Four since Michigan in 2016.
Rachael Carver scored on the first possession for Princeton and later came up with another tally as the clock read 2:17 to go in the first frame. Lindsey Lucas kept the Tigers in front with five stops in the first eight minutes.
Kate Mallery put the Tigers in front, 3-1, to begin the second quarter. Lucas came up with a big stop on a 5M chance before Kaila Carroll extended the lead for Princeton to three, 4-1.
Cal closed the gap to one with two consecutive goals, but Jovana Sekulic scored on a great feed from Carver to make it 5-3 with 2:33 remaining in the first half.
Mallery extended Princeton's advantage to three, 6-3, with nine seconds to go in the first half.
Tallies from Carroll and Carver (her third of the game) pushed Princeton's lead to four, 8-4, but Cal rebounded with two straight to cut the deficit in half with 2:39 left in the third stanza.
The Bears scored as time expired to end the third quarter to make it an 8-7 contest with eight minutes to go.
Kayla Yelensky scored twice to begin the fourth frame to get Princeton to double-digits with over six minutes to go. The Bears closed the gap to one with 2:30 left, but Mallery finished off a hat trick to complete the scoring. Lucas came up with two saves and a block after Mallery's tally to keep the Bears off the scoreboard.
Carver led the Tigers with three goals and three assists while Mallery also had three goals. Lucas recorded 15 stops in the win. It's the program's first victory ever over Cal in seven contests.
Players Mentioned
UTL
/ Women's Water Polo
ATT
/ Women's Water Polo
G
/ Women's Water Polo
UTL
/ Women's Water Polo
C
/ Women's Water Polo
UTL
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