Women's Water Polo: No. 20 Princeton opens season 4-0

In the weekend’s closest matchup against Colorado State, junior center Saranna Soroka’s game-winning goal with little time left on the clock was the difference. On one of the game’s last possessions, Soroka turned her defender and netted the winner on a shot from the inside position.

“It was really exciting, and it felt good because it was a pretty physical, hard game and there was a lot of emotion,” Soroka said.

Soroka’s goal gave Princeton (4-0 overall) the victory in the toughest test of the opening weekend. Against the Rams, sophomore utility Katie Rigler led off the game with two quick goals, and the defense — led by Soroka’s team-high four steals — held the Rams scoreless in the first period. Over the next two quarters, though, Colorado State fired five shots into the back of the net and held a 5-4 lead entering the fourth and final period. Freshman utility Ashley Hatcher sparked the comeback with a tying goal to knot it at five before Soroka’s final shot gave the Tigers another notch in the win column.

“It was a pretty feisty game, especially when we were tied in the fourth quarter with only a few possessions left,” Soroka said. “Girls were really physical and getting pretty frustrated.”

That was the closest of any of the weekend’s games, as Princeton easily dispatched Harvard, Mercyhurst and Villanova while giving much of the roster significant playing time.

Princeton looks to lean more heavily on its large six-person freshmen class this year, as Hatcher scored four goals on the weekend and freshmen Jessie Holechek, Camille Hooks and Kelly Gross added points of their own.

“The freshmen are awesome, talented players and fun, enthusiastic teammates,” senior goalkeeper and captain Kristen Ward said. “In recent years, we’ve had a more upperclassman-heavy roster, but such a strong freshman class will be to our advantage, as they bring a whole new level of excitement and enthusiasm to the team.”

Living up to expectations, the freshmen shone under the first playing time at the college level. At the end of the tournament, 12 of the 15 players on the team scored a goal or made an assist and everyone saw playing time.

“Intersession was our first time really playing polo. [The freshmen] picked it up so quickly and have picked up the college game [quickly],” Soroka said. “I think it’s been pretty seamless.”

In the season opener against Harvard, after Soroka and sophomore utility Molly McBee both found the back of the cage, Hooks was the first freshman to score a goal of the young season. Following her lead, Gross and Holechek both tallied two goals each and were the high scorers of the game.

“[The freshmen] are a really diverse bunch, so they have lots of different skills,” Soroka said. “They weren’t timid, they weren’t scared of college polo. They were really excited to just jump in and start playing.”

Along with adding on the scoreboard, Ward said that the freshmen bring a little extra juice that will aid the team in and out of the pool.

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“They’ve definitely freshened up the group,” she said.

The Tigers will play at the Bucknell Invitational next weekend in Lewisburg, Pa. This will be the second time that Princeton and Bucknell will be at the same pool but won’t play each other.