PRINCETON, N.J. – The Cougar water polo team hit the pool for four games over two days at the Princeton Invitational.  On day one, they dropped a narrow 13-12 decision against Siena before knocking off La Salle in the late game, 15-12.

Game One: Siena 13, Azusa Pacific 12

The Cougars found themselves in a big hole early and were unable to quite recover.  The Saints scored on their first two shots of the game and pushed that advantage to 5-1 by the end of the first quarter.  Azusa Pacific would narrow the deficit in the second quarter by scoring four of the first five goals of the period, but would never quite pull even and found themselves trailing 7-5 at halftime.

Siena again pulled away in the third quarter, scoring three consecutive goals after the Cougars had again pulled within one, and when they struck for the first goal of the fourth, the Saints had a 12-8 lead with less than six minutes to play.  While the Cougars would stage a furious rally with three goals in the final three minutes, it ultimately proved not enough.  Audrey Dexter had a hat trick for the Cougars to lead eight players who scored in the game, while Daniela Herrero Miralles recorded eight saves in net.

Game Two: Azusa Pacific 15, La Salle 12

In their second matchup of the day, the Cougars were locked in a back-and-forth battle with the Explorers, as the teams would be tied on nine different occasions over the first three quarters.  Laia Marsinach Ortega and Dexter would score consecutive goals in the second quarter to give the Cougars a 6-4 lead–the only multi-goal advantage either side would enjoy during the first three quarters–though the Explorers would cut the lead back to 6-5 at halftime.

La Salle evened the score with the first goal of the third quarter and regained the lead a couple of times in the period.  Dexter had a hat trick in the quarter, giving her four goals for the game.  The last of those strikes tied the game at 10-10.  As the clock wound down in the period, goalie Alex Airitam corralled the ball in her own end and flung a desperation shot the length of the pool that somehow went in to put the Cougars back up by a goal.  Marsinach Ortega would add three more goals of her own in the final period to ensure the Cougars held on for their first victory of 2025.  Marsinach Ortega and Dexter each wound up with four goals in the victory, while Airitam made eight saves to aid in the win.

Up Next: Azusa Pacific (1-3) continue their weekend in central New Jersey by playing another pair of northeastern opponents on Sunday, when they square off against both Wagner and Long Island.