The lineup looks identical to the one during the regular season — Queens, St. Francis and then either UMass or Navy, barring any upsets.
But this is not a simple matchup for division bragging rights or even an ECAC Championship. This weekend at Providence, R.I., it's a one-time shot at the crowning glory of the water polo season that is on the line — an Eastern Championship and a berth to the NCAA Tournament in two weeks.
"We're feeling good," senior captain and driver Chris Gratian said. "We are coming off a tough season of training and a good taper, so everyone has some good energy to work off of."
"We know what we are going there to do, and we plan on doing it."
There isn't much mystery about what the Tigers expect from these games. All season, the top five eastern teams have all competed in tightly-contested matches with each other, decided usually by one possession or one crucial mistake.
"We cannot take for granted any of the eight teams," junior two-meter Marshall Roslyn said. "But we know that the top five teams have a good shot of coming out on top. We're prepared for a dog-fight [in every match]."
Beast of the East
The first match against Queens is by no means an easy way to start, as it is led by arguably the best player in the East, Burak Incecam. The Tigers know that containing this volatile player is the key to success. The defensive responsibility for this task will go to Roslyn and senior two-meter Forrest Christo, who wasn't even available the last time Princeton beat Queens.
From there, the offense must use its speed and superior endurance to keep the Knights on their heels while wearing them out up and down the pool with a deadly transition offense.
Princeton also hopes to benefit from a slightly new offensive scheme. Instead of a focus around the hole set, the men's squad will utilize a full motion offense, leaving more of the scoring power in the hands of the driver and possibly giving the hole set a little more flexibility in his positioning.
"If they are taking away [sophomore two-meter] Kevin [Foster] or [senior captain] Chris [Gratian] on the outside, everyone needs to be a threat so that they can open up more of the pool," Roslyn said.
This strategy will be particularly important against St. Francis, the obvious favorite entering the tournament. With an internationally experienced almost fully European squad, the Terriers are clearly the most well rounded of the Tigers' opponents and have the most potent offense. In fact, they only have two losses the entire season — one against the Puerto Rican national team and the other against Princeton.
"You need to be aware of the counterattack at all times and keep it close early because that is when they beat you," Gratian said.
No margin for error
Once again, the Tigers will depend on their characteristically solid man-to-man defense to flow into an effective offense. But given the quickness and experience of the Terriers, the margin of error for mistakes is zero if Princeton hopes to advance to the final match.
"It is just essential that we need to make every offensive possession count and take quality shots every time," Roslyn said. "We have been mentally preparing for this match all year so focus should not be a problem."
If the Tigers advance to the final game, most likely a matchup against Navy or UMass awaits. Coming off of a disappointing 6-5 loss to the Midshipmen in the finals at Southerns, the Tigers know that the loss was self-inflicted. Despite a stellar second half of defense, Princeton fell behind in the first half by giving up six goals in a span of about six minutes in the first half and was unable to recover.
"It was probably our worst game of the season, and we only lost by one goal; it was clearly a fluke," Roslyn said. "We are confident in our ability to win. We've beaten all these teams at least once and we know that if we can string three good games together, the championship is definitely possible."
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