Princeton, N.J. — The No. 24 Wagner women's water polo team opened play at the Princeton Invitational with a strong 14-8 victory over Bucknell before battling nationally ranked Indiana and Princeton in a pair of tightly contested matchups at DeNunzio Pool.
Game 1 Results — No. 24 Wagner 14, Bucknell 8
The Seahawks came out sharp in the opening quarter, trading goals with Bucknell in a fast-paced start. Wagner edged ahead early, holding a narrow 4-3 lead at the end of the first period.
Momentum swung further in Wagner's favor in the second quarter, as the Seahawks strung together key offensive possessions and tightened up defensively. Wagner added four more goals, including two of them from junior Ana Arias López, while limiting Bucknell to two. The Seahawks took an 8-5 advantage into halftime.
Wagner continued to build separation in the third quarter where junior
Maylen Sampedro Tarela completed a hat trick, outscoring the Bison 3-1 behind a balanced attack that kept Bucknell on its heels. Entering the final period, the Seahawks held an 11-6 lead and maintained control of the contest.
In the fourth quarter, Wagner closed strong with three additional goals from freshman
Lacey Aquaro, senior
Genevieve Bland and Sampedro Tarela, matching Bucknell's two down the stretch to seal the 14-8 win. Nine different Seahawks found the back of the net, showcasing the team's offensive depth.
Goals: Sampedro Tarela (4),
Makayla Ulmer-Lutudromu (2), Arias López (2),
Magali Ogg,
Alex Hlohovsky Andrist, Aquaro,
Martina Parisi,
Catherine Mentz, Bland
Game 2 Results — No. 24 Wagner 10, No. 8 Indiana 15
Wagner struck first and kept pace early in the opening quarter, exchanging goals with the Hoosiers before Indiana took a narrow 3-2 lead into the second period. Wagner continued to fight in the second quarter, trading scores through the first half, and the teams went into halftime with Indiana holding a 8-4 advantage.
After the break, Indiana began to extend its lead, however, this was Wagner's strongest period outscoring the Hoosiers 4-3 in the third quarter. Although the Green & White made an effort, Indiana pushed its advantage to 11-8. Heading into the final period, the Hoosiers kept the pressure on, opening the fourth with consecutive goals that widened the gap. Indiana's offense outpaced Wagner 4-2 in the fourth, allowing the Hoosiers to pull away to the 15-10 victory.
Wagner's scoring was spread across multiple contributors, with six Seahawks finding the back of the net against a strong Indiana defense.
Goals: Ogg (3), Mentz (2), Sampedro Tarela (2), Arias Pérez,
Lily Carrick,
Maggie Pike
Game 3 Results — No. 24 Wagner 10, No. 15 Princeton 12
The game opened with both teams trading goals in a fast-paced first quarter, as Wagner matched Princeton score-for-score to end the period knotted at 3-3.
Princeton kept the pressure on in the second quarter, but Wagner held its ground, matching the Tigers goal-for-goal as both sides scored twice in the period. Despite all the efforts, both teams carried the same momentum into halftime even 5-5, as Wagner continued to battle defensively against the Tigers' transition.
Princeton could maintain its momentum coming out of the break, adding four more goals in the third quarter to push the lead to 10-6. Despite Wagner's efforts to generate offense, the Tigers' depth and pace proved difficult to overcome.
In the final quarter, Wagner showed resilience, scoring four goals to close the contest, but Princeton answered with three of its own to secure the 12-10 victory.
Goals: Sampedro Tarela (3), Ogg (2), Ulmer-Lutudromu (2), Carrick, Parisi, Ramon Torrent
Next Up: Wagner returns to action at the Wildcat Invite, facing Harvard and CBU on day one Saturday, Feb. 7, followed by Gannon on day two, Sunday, Feb. 8.
