The Basics
• Scores:
St. Francis-12, Johns Hopkins-6
#12 Princeton-20, Johns Hopkins-12
• Records: JHU (1-6) • SFC (3-1) • PU (5-2)
• Location: Princeton, NJ • DeNunzio Pool
• The Short Story: The Johns Hopkins water polo team dropped a pair of decisions to St. Francis and 12^th-ranked Princeton on the second day of the Princeton Invitational.
 
How it Happened • St. Francis
• Hopkins grabbed a 2-1 lead with back-to-back goals by seniors Jake Pearson and Jayden Kunwar midway through the first. St. Francis answered with a six-on-five goal at the 1:13-mark to tie the game at two. 
• The second quarter was also a low-scoring affair as the teams combined for two scores. Dominick Hevesi struck first in the quarter, putting the Terriers up 3-2 at 4:47. Sophomore Paul Gensbigler answered with just 51 seconds remaining to send the teams into the half tied at three.
• St. Francis exploded for six goals in the third quarter, to just one for Hopkins, to push out to a 9-4 lead. The Terriers continued their offensive burst early in the fourth, scoring three straight to extend their lead to 12-4 midway through the quarter. Junior Kamran Eslami and sophomore Seth Burke ended the run with back-to-back goals just 67 second apart late in the period, to cut the deficit to six. That's as close as Hopkins could get however.
 
How it Happened • Princeton
• This one was close early as the teams traded goals over the opening eight minutes and Princeton led 4-3 at the end of one.
• The Tigers pushed their lead to two with a Joan Coloma goal just 40 seconds in. The Blue Jays answered with goals from Kunwar and senior Emerson Sullivan to knot the score at five with 5:58 to play in the second. Princeton got goals from Yurian Quinones and Mitchell Cooper, sandwiched around a goal from Sullivan, to take a 7-6 lead with just 34 ticks on the clock. Sullivan had the final say of the half however, scoring a six-on-five goal with just three seconds left to make it a 7-7 game at the break.
• Sullivan opened the third-quarter scoring to give Hopkins its first lead, 8-7, just 34 seconds into the third. Princeton answered but a Kunwar goal at 4:46 put JHU up 9-8. The Tigers responded with six straight goals to take a 14-9 lead after three.
• Princeton picked up where it left off, scoring three to open the fourth and push out to a 17-9 lead. The teams would trade goals over the final five minutes as the Tigers grabbed the 20-12 win.
 
What it Means
• Hopkins falls to 14-31 all-time against St. Francis as the Terriers win their third straight in the series.
• JHU is now 5-53 all-time against Princeton.
 
Inside the Box Score • St. Francis
• Six different Blue Jays scored and 10 different players notched a point.
• Freshman goalie Kyle Pearson made 16 saves in the loss, which is tied for the second most ever by a freshman in program history. In addition, he handed out a pair of assists and grabbed three steals.
• Kunwar finished with a career-best four steals to go with his first-quarter score. In addition to his goal, Burke tied his career-high with two blocks.
 
Inside the Box Score • Princeton
• Kunwar led the Blue Jays with five goals and six points and now ranks 23^rd in school history with 174 career points. He is also 19^th with 139 career goals. Sullivan chipped in four goals and three drawn ejections while Jake Pearson added three points (1g, 2a) and four steals.
• Freshman Connor Mechelke made a career-best 12 saves in the goal.
 
Up Next
• Hopkins returns to action on Friday, September 17 at the Conn College Tournament. Hopkins will take on host Connecticut College at 6:30 pm.