April 5, 2008

PRINCETON, N.J. - The Bucknell women's water polo team had its eight-game winning streak snapped Saturday as it dropped a pair of one-goal games to Princeton and Brown. The Bison lost to the host Tigers by a 7-6 margin and then came back a few hours later and lost 9-8 to the Bears in overtime.

Bucknell, which suffered its first two losses to unranked foes this season, fell to 22-6 and remains one win shy of equaling the program record. The Bison also fell to 3-1 in CWPA Southern Division play with its loss to Princeton. The contest with Brown was a non-league outing.

While the league loss to Princeton was a difficult one, the nightcap against Brown was especially hard to take. The Bears netted the game-winning goal on a five-meter penalty shot with no time remaining in the second three-minute overtime period.

Bucknell actually took a 7-3 advantage into the fourth quarter against the Bears, but Brown outscored the Bison 5-1 in the fourth quarter to force overtime. Neither team found the back of the net in overtime until the Bears' penalty shot goal with 0:00 on the clock.

Bucknell had its chances to win the game, but went 3-for-17 in six-on-five situations.

Kandis Canonica (Burlingame, Calif./St. Ignatius Prep) and Aubrey Rowe (Carlisle, Pa./Cumberland Valley) led the Bison with three goals apiece. Canonica added one assist to bring her season point total to a team-high 93, which is tied for second on the program's single-season list with Adrienne Schober. Haley Prickett (Newport Beach, Calif./Corona del Mar) added a career-high three assists.

Alison Carter (Costa Mesa, Calif./Newport Harbor), who played all 70 minutes in Saturday's two games, made nine saves against Brown. She had six stops earlier in the day against Princeton.

In that Princeton contest, the Bison had to come from behind as opposed to their early lead against the Bears. Bucknell trailed 2-0 at the end of the first quarter. It continued to trail entering the fourth when Lauren Sabb put Princeton up 7-4 with a goal with two seconds remaining in the third period.

The Bison chipped away with two goals in the fourth, but were never able to draw even with the team they defeated by one goal last Friday night at Kinney Natatorium.

Meagan Gins (Albuquerque, N.M./Valley) led Bucknell with two goals against the Tigers.

On the defensive side of the pool Carter posted a team-high five steals, while Rowe added four. She had a total of seven in the two games as the Bison piled up 35 steals, including 19 vs. Princeton.

Bucknell, which had climbed into the national rankings at No. 20 last week, will wrap up its regular season next weekend. It will play at George Washington Saturday night and will then face Maryland and Michigan in College Park, Md. The games opposite the Colonials and Terrapins are both league contests, while the outing against the Wolverines is a non-league affair.

Game 1
BUCKNELL      0 1 3 2 -6
PRINCETON     2 1 4 0 -7

Goals: Gins (2), Palencia, Rozas, McBride, Rowe.
Assists: Swoyer, Rozas.
Ejections Drawn: Gins (3), Allen (2), Rowe (2), Swoyer, Rozas.
Saves: Carter (6 svs., 7 ga., 32:00 min.).
Steals: Carter (5), Rowe (4), Allen (3), Palencia, Gins, Swoyer, Vallis, Rozas, Canonica, Prickett.
Sprints: Allen (2-3), Canonica (0-1).
Record: 22-5, 3-1 CWPA Southern Division

Game 2
BROWN          1 2 0 5 1 -9
BUCKNELL      2 1 4 1 0 -8

Goals: Canonica (3), Rowe (3), Gins, Swoyer.
Assists: Prickett (3), Palencia, Canonica.
Ejections Drawn: Palencia (4), Rowe (4), Rozas (2), Prickett (2), Allen (2), Gins, Swoyer, Canonica.
Saves: Carter (9 svs., 9 ga., 38:00 min.).
Steals: Palencia (3), Prickett (3), Rowe (3), Canonica (2), Carter (2), Gins, Swoyer, Rozas.
Sprints: Allen (3-3), Rowe (2-2), Canonica (1-1).
Record: 22-6, 3-1 CWPA Southern Division