Courtesy: Beverly Schaefer
The No. 13 Princeton women's water polo team is headed to the semifinal round of the Eastern Championship following its 9-6 victory over Harvard. The Tigers, who earned a first round bye, employed a second half surge to push past the Crimson in the quarterfinals.
Princeton held a 3-2 advantage after the first quarter, but Harvard evened the score in the second period. With the game knotted 3-3 heading into the second half, the Tigers responded with a 4-1 run in the third quarter to take control of the game, 7-4. Princeton's advantage would be enough, as both sides scored two goals apiece in the final period.
Southern Division Player of the Year Katie Rigler scored a game-high four goals, earning Player of the Game honors by the CWPA. Brittany Zwirner added three goals, and Molly McBee and Saranna Soroka each found the back of the net once.
Defensively, McBee tallied a team-high four steals, while goalie Kristen Ward had 12 saves, a steal and an assist.
The Southern Division Champions improve to 26-4 on the year with the win. No. 2 seed Princeton next faces tournament host sixth-seeded Brown in the semifinals on Saturday, April 28 at 6 p.m. The Tigers are 2-0 this season versus the Bears, defeating Brown 18-8 in the regular season on Mar. 4 and 9-8 in the Southern Division title game on Apr. 15.
Princeton: 3 - 0 - 4 - 2Harvard: 2 - 1 - 1 - 2
Goals: McBee 1, Rigler 4, Soroka 1, Zwirner 3
Assists: Hooks 1, McBee 1, Ward 1, Zak 1
Steals: Dunstan 1, Gyorffy 1, Hooks 2, McBee 4, Soroka 1, Ward 1
Saves: Ward 12
