Women’s Water Polo went 2-1 at the Princeton Invite on Jan. 30 and 31, defeating LIU 13-9 and Iona 12-9, but falling to No. 24 Wagner 8-14.
The Bison competed for the first time this year, following the cancellation of their first four games at the Harvard Invitational due to weather conditions.
In their first game on Friday, against LIU, the Orange and Blue came back from two early deficits, to lead the Sharks 6-5 before surging at the end of the first half. The second half featured complete domination from the Bison, putting three in the back of the cage in the third quarter before ending the game in the last eight minutes with an additional two goals.
It was a complete team effort, as the Orange and Blue had seven unique scorers, including Ashley Hopper’s ’28 three goals. In goal, Tamara Torkos ’27 recorded 12 saves, holding LIU to just nine goals.
In their second game of the day, the Bison started strong, netting four goals in the first quarter before tacking on three more to lead the Gaels by two going into halftime. The second half proceeded similarly to the first, as five more shots by the Orange and Blue found the back of the cage.
Efficiency was key as the Bison converted 12 of their 16 total shots. Olivia Garcia ’29 and Olivia Hopper ’28 led the scoring, netting three goals each. The 2-0 start marked the first time since 2022 that the Bison started undefeated.
On Saturday, the Orange and Blue found an early lead against a ranked Seahawks squad, but were behind 4-3 at the end of the first quarter. Wagner extended their lead before halftime, netting three to the Bison’s two to lead 7-5 going into the break.
A strong third quarter, where the Orange and Blue were shut out, practically sealed the game for the Seahawks as they went into the final eight minutes up by five goals. Three goals in the fourth quarter were not enough to close the gap and the Bison fell 14-8.
Women’s Water Polo continues their season on Feb. 6 and 7, where they travel to Lexington, Va., to take on Salem, Mount St. Mary’s and VMI at the VMI Invite.
