In the world of water polo, games are usually scrappy affairs where teams fight and claw for every little position in the pool. When a game deviates from this norm, it is usually the result of one team's offense and defense working seamlessly to create effective transitions for all players — a sudden one-two punch to the gut of its opponent that translates into easy goal after easy goal. Exasperated by the insistence of this attack, the other team folds under the constant pressure.
Saturday, the Tigers (9-5) achieved this state of excellence for 40 minutes — not just once, but in all three of its games. Princeton amassed a total of 51 goals — compared to its opponent's' output of 15 — while spreading the scoring wealth throughout the entire offense. Princeton seemed poised to take its first giant leap toward legitimizing its claim to be one of the best teams on the East Coast.
Then came Navy.
After victories over the likes of George Washington, Johns Hopkins and Bucknell by scores of 17-7, 17-4 and 17-4, respectively, the Tigers descended into a grueling match that was not decided until the final minute. In the end, however, a sudden scramble led to a quick Midshipmen goal and a 14-13 loss for Princeton on Sunday.
Spread the wealth
"We were all pretty disappointed about the loss [to Navy]," sophomore driver Rob Urquhart said. "Offensively, we scored a lot of goals but it wasn't nearly as evenly distributed as it was [earlier in the] weekend.
"We just didn't play our best game."
The uneven distribution of goals — Urquhart and senior captain Chris Gratian combined for nine of Princeton's scores — and the other problems experienced by the squad Sunday were the direct result of the unique offense run by Navy. Using a type of motion offense, the Midshipmen constantly rotate players into the whole set position, opening up little spaces here and there to score an inside goal. This mannered approach also cuts down the natural effectiveness of a transition offense by the opponent. And on Sunday, it prevented the Tigers from achieving the flawless integration of offense and defense they had displayed day before.
"They have so many big guys and they are such good swimmers that they can make the opportunities happen if you're not ready," Gratian said.
"It's just a little harder to defend them," Urquhart said. "They are constantly moving, constantly setting picks for each other that we just couldn't match."
Scoring machine
Regardless of Princeton's defensive setbacks, the 13 goals scored by the Tigers were a testament to their offensive resiliency and tactical advantage against the Navy defense. With transition opportunities hard to come by, Princeton utilized its speed and good decision-making to keep the game close. While the performances of Gratian and Urquhart were paramount, other solid efforts were put in by junior two-meter Marshall Roslyn — who scored twice — as well as senior driver Trevor Walsh and freshman driver Dan McKenna, who each added a goal.
"We know that we have a better chance of adapting to their style, while they will not be able to adjust and stop our offense," Gratian said. "We're going to play them a bunch. This is just round one."
Growing up
Considering the squad's rate of progress over the past three weeks — culminating in Saturday's matches — everyone feels that it is just a matter of time before the Tigers make that next giant leap forward. One only needs to compare the first and second matches of the season against perennially-ranked Bucknell. While the first game was a drawn-out overtime ordeal, Princeton disposed of the Bison with relative ease Saturday. Overall, at least eight Princeton players scored in each of the Tigers' three Saturday games.
"We definitely know we got better in the last two weeks and this weekend will be a good test to see how far we've actually come," Urquhart said.
The Tigers will take on UMass, St. Francis, Harvard and Brown this coming weekend.
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