Throughout the third quarter of men's water polo's Sunday match against UMass, the usually animated bench of the Princeton squad was in complete silence. The players could only stare down at the faded orange tiles while head coach Luis Nicolao sat almost motionless, hands folded inward without a word to describe what was happening.
Princeton (12-6) — which looked primed after Friday's and Saturday's games to finally make its first big step forward and finish the North/South Invitational undefeated — reverted to a team without focus or stability. The Tigers looked lost.
And even when Princeton broke free — like sophomore two-meter Kevin Foster's quick cut inside with 35 seconds left in the quarter — the attempt ended in nothing, as the ball banged off the cross bar.
When the quarter was finished, the men's squad had given up four unanswered goals, allowing UMass to expand a surmountable 4-2 lead into an insurmountable 8-2 advantage.
"We just didn't have one of our best games," Nicolao said. "It's not like we didn't play hard and well in the first half, especially our defense. But once you play over-aggressive, it will just get worse and worse."
Coming up short
After gritty and impressive wins against Harvard, Brown and St. Francis, the Tigers failed to maximize their potential and allowed a solid Minuteman team to romp to a 10-4 victory.
"We had very high expectations coming into the season and sometimes, we just rely on thinking we're the best team in the pool, instead of playing like we're the best team for four quarters," Nicolao said.
The seeds for Princeton's destruction were sown very early on Sunday. The first few minutes saw some good defensive stops by the Tigers, led primarily by sophomore driver Robert Urquhart and junior two-meter Marshall Roslyn. But it was a different Princeton squad on the other end, allowing golden opportunities to go to waste, especially two early man-advantage chances. In total, the Tigers converted only two of their 12 man-up opportunities on the game.
"It's encouraging that we can get that many kick-outs for a game. It shows we're doing the right stuff," Nicolao said. "But when you only convert two of 12, you're just not going to win."
Eventually, the Tiger defense followed suit with the offense, allowing more than half of UMass' 10 goals to come off mental mistakes. Junior goalkeeper Jon Pharris was reduced to flailing wildly at wide-open shots to stop the third-quarter Minutemen onslaught, while Coach Nicolao made his feelings obvious by pulling his starters and allowing a mostly freshman lineup to play the fourth quarter.
"It was just frustrating watching us play like that [in the third quarter]," Nicolao said. "Sometimes, it's just good to take out [your starters] and have them watch and think about how they are playing."
Sad surprise
The failure of Princeton came as quite a surprise for the squad, considering the quality of play from the days before. Even though these games were also filled with missed opportunities, Princeton found a way to emerge victorious, defeating both Harvard and Brown by the scores of 9-7 and 10-4, respectively. This weekend even saw the Tigers at arguably their very best, avenging an early season loss to St. Francis, defeating the Terriers in an emotional 13-10 victory.
Led by Foster and Urquhart — who combined for nine of the Tigers' 13 goals — Princeton showed how running a stifling defense and fast break offense will eventually wear down one's opponent, no matter how potent their offense.
"We showed our fullest capability of how we can play against St. Francis," Nicolao said. "We made them play a half-court offense — unlike against UMass where we let them roam wild — and forced them to beat us at our own game."
But, the Tigers came up short in their bid to repeat the 4-0 record achieved at last year's North/South Invitational — failing once again to complete its first perfect weekend of the season. Hopes ride high for next week, however, as the men's squad plays Johns Hopkins, Bucknell, and George Washington — teams Princeton has beaten quite handily in past matches.
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