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No. 20 Brown University Stops Marist 9-5 in ECAC Semifinal
PRINCETON, N.J. -- Led by four goals and three steals by senior Lauren Presant (Poway, Calif./Poway), the Brown University women’s water polo team earned a 9-5 win over Marist College in an Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Championship semifinal at Princeton University's DeNunzio Pool.
The Bears started off strong and
built a 2-0 lead after the first eight minutes before expanding the
margin to 6-2 by halftime. The Red Foxes cut the deficit to 7-4 in
the third quarter, but Brown outscored Marist 2-1 in the fourth to
earn the win and advance to the ECAC Championship game for the
second straight year.
Leading the way for the Bears was Presant with four goals, an
assist, three steals and three ejections drawn. Pitching in was
junior Joanna Wohlmuth (Manhattan Beach, Calif./Mira
Costa) with two goals and four ejections drawn.
Sarah Glick (Sr., Bonita, Calif./Bonita Vista)
tacked on two goals with three assists and three steals, while
rookie Brittany Westerman (Fr., Palo Alto, Calif./Deerfield
Academy) added a marker.
Stephanie Laing (Sr., Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer)
recorded eight saves to lead Brown’s defense as the Bears
will take on host Princeton University at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday,
February 28 for the ECAC Championship.
The game will mark the second meeting between the Bears and Tigers this year as Princeton upended Brown 13-11 on February 21 during the Princeton Invite.
2009 ECAC champion Brown, which advanced to the ECAC title game in 2001, 2002, 2004, 2007 and 2009 previous to this year's charge, will not have history on its side as the Bears will need to do the unprecedented and defeat Princeton at home in DeNunzio Pool for the ECAC title.
This year marks the fourth time Princeton has hosted the championship as the Garden State was previously the site of the 2000, 2001 and 2003 tournaments. In all three championships, Princeton exited DeNunzio with the championship plaque. Overall, the host team has now reached the title game six times in the 11 women's ECAC Championships, as Brown advanced and fell in the 2004 title game, while Bucknell captured the 2008 crown.
The title game matchup continues a stretch of dominance by Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) teams at the ECAC Championship as six-time titleist Princeton (2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007), Hartwick College (2004), Bucknell University (2008) and Brown (2009) of the CWPA have swept the previous ECAC title games.
Overall, only the 2005-07 and 2000-01 Princeton Tigers have repeated as ECAC Champions.
