Scoreless Stretch Hurts Bucknell Women's Water Polo in 9-6 Loss to Princeton at Eastern Championship - BUCKNELL UNIVERSITY OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE

Scoreless Stretch Hurts Bucknell Women's Water Polo in 9-6 Loss to Princeton at Eastern Championship

Rowe Breaks Bison Career Points Record

Aubrey Rowe broke the Bucknell career points record (354) Saturday vs. Princeton.

April 25, 2009

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - The Bucknell women's water polo team was unable to make it three wins in one season against conference rival Princeton as it lost to the Tigers by a 9-6 score in the consolation bracket of the Eastern Championship Saturday afternoon at Blodgett Pool. The Bison did not score a goal in the middle two quarters as Princeton turned a one-goal deficit into a three-goal cushion.

The Bison led 3-2 after one quarter, but Princeton scored two goals in the second and third frames to take a 6-3 lead into the final period.

Bucknell (18-16), which has lost five straight games after posting eight wins in a row, will now play host Harvard in the seventh-place game Sunday at 10 a.m. The Bison have finished seventh at the Eastern Championship three times in the last five years. Princeton (15-13) will play Indiana in the fifth-place game Sunday.

Senior captain Aubrey Rowe (Carlisle, Pa./Cumberland Valley) was a bright spot for Bucknell on Saturday as she registered four goals for the second straight day. The four goals lifted her career point total to 354, a new program record. She now has 220 career goals and 134 career assists, which are both second on their respective lists. Rowe's 73 goals this year are a new program record, one ahead of Valentina Rozas (Pico Rivera, Calif./El Rancho), who has 71 scores this year.

Shana Palencia (Glendale, Calif./Hoover) and Kandis Canonica (Burlingame, Calif./St. Ignatius) rounded out the Bison goal scorers with one apiece, while three different players produced one assist. Bucknell, which entered the game assisting on nearly 85 percent of its goals, were at a 50 percent clip on Saturday.

In addition to her offensive output, which has seen her tally at least one goal in 19 straight games, Rowe drew five more ejections, boosting her career-high total to 54. She had a career-high eight ejections drawn Friday afternoon in a loss to Maryland.

Bucknell entered the season having beaten Princeton just once in 26 all-time meetings, but defeated the Tigers twice in a seven-day span during the regular season. Princeton has exacted revenge the last two Saturdays, downing the Bison 10-9 in overtime at the Southern Championships and then again at the Eastern Championship.

Bucknell and Harvard will meet on Sunday for the second time this season. The Bison edged out the Crimson 14-13 at the Princeton Invitational in February.

PRINCETON 2 2 2 3 -9
BUCKNELL 3 0 0 3 -6

Goals: Rowe (4), Palencia, Canonica.
Assists: Vallis, Rozas, Canonica.
Ejections Drawn: Rowe (5), Rozas (3), Canonica (3), Prickett (2), Vallis.
Saves: Carter (3 svs., 9 ga., 32:00 min.).
Steals: Prickett (3), Rozas (2), Carter (2), Palencia, Skonezney, Canonica, Rowe.
Sprints: Skonezney (1-4).
Bucknell Record: 18-16