The Basics
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Scores:
St. Francis-12, Johns Hopkins-6
#12 Princeton-20, Johns Hopkins-12
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Records: JHU (1-6) • SFC (3-1) • PU (5-2)
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Location: Princeton, NJ • DeNunzio Pool
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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.
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How it Happened •Â
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.Â
• 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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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