NET VALUE: Princeton University women’s water polo goalie Ashleigh Johnson makes a save in action earlier this season. Last weekend, junior star Johnson excelled at the NCAA championships as Princeton finished sixth in the national competition held in Avery Aquatic Center in Stanford, Calif. Johnson set a new NCAA Tournament single-game record with 22 saves in a 6-5 loss to Cal-Irvine on Sunday in the fifth-place game and ended the weekend with a tourney-record 50 saves over three games. Princeton posted a final record of 31-5, tying the program mark for single season wins. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

After cruising to a 12-2 win over Wagner in an NCAA play-in game on May 2, the ninth-ranked Princeton University women’s water polo team was primed to see how it stacked up against the elite teams in the college game as it headed west to the national quarterfinals.

“As a group we were excited to go and play well and compete and we did,” said Princeton head coach Luis Nicolao, reflecting on the NCAA championships, which were held at Stanford, Calif.

Competing hard and placing sixth overall, Princeton fell 7-2 to eventual national champion Stanford in the quarterfinals on Friday before edging Hawaii 7-6 in the consolation round on Saturday and ending the competition by falling 6-5 to Cal-Irvin in the fifth place game.

In the battle with host Stanford, Princeton trailed by just 2-0 after the first quarter before things got away in the next period.

“We knew that they had to have a bad game and we needed our best to beat them,” said Nicolao, who got 18 saves from junior goalie Ashleigh Johnson in the defeat with seniors Ashley Hatcher and Taylor Dunstan notching goals.

“Ashleigh kept us in the game, she was unbelievable. Other than the second quarter, I liked the whole game. They smothered us defensively in the second quarter. We made four mistakes in the quarter and they outscored us 4-0. A team like that makes you pay for mistakes.”

A day later, the Tigers rebounded with a dramatic 7-6 win over No. 5 Hawaii which saw Tiger senior Jesse Holechek score the winning goal with four seconds remaining in regulation.

“It was a great game, we talk about that second game at the tournament, it is more our level, playing teams where we are ranked,” said Nicolao.

“We had lost to Hawaii before this season and we didn’t play our best. It was a real battle, both teams responded well from their first game. Holechek has always been a big game player for us, she has a good outside shot, I was really happy to see her get that goal. The defense allowed us to have a chance to win. We didn’t want to be in that last place game.”

In the fifth-place game against No. 6 Cal-Irvine, Princeton held a 2-1 halftime lead and was ahead 4-3 and 5-4 in the second half but the Anteaters scored two late goals to pull out the victory.

“The whole game we were up by one, we couldn’t get that 2-goal lead,” said Nicolao, reflecting on the game which saw Johnson set an NCAA tournament single-game record with 22 saves. “I thought that would give us the cushion we needed with Ashleigh. It was a bummer to lose that last one.”

Having Johnson in net gives Princeton a chance in any game it plays. “Ashleigh had an amazing weekend, she stood out as an elite goalie,” said Nicolao of the Miami, Fla. native who ended the weekend with a tourney-record 50 saves over three games. “The Stanford game was great, to play that well against those kind of shots.”

Nicolao was happy to see his group of seniors, Hatcher, Dunstan, Holechek, CeCe Coffey, Kelly Gross, and Camille Hooks, go out with a great campaign.

“I am thrilled with the season, we had a great year,” said Nicolao, whose team ended the spring at 31-5, tying the program record for single season wins.

“The seniors were 119-19 over their four years and I will take that every four years. They had a great four years and a great ride.”

While graduation will leave a void, Nicolao is already looking forward to next year.

“We lose a large group and Ashleigh is taking the year off from school to train with the U.S. national team as it gets ready for the Olympics,” said Nicolao.

“We have lost great players in the past and other girls have stepped up. The returners have experience in winning and they love to compete. We have a good freshman class coming in.”