This Saturday, the Princeton men's water polo team will attempt to start off the Eastern Championships with a bang when it plays Massachusetts at 10 a.m. at DeNunzio Pool with a birth in the NCAA Tournament at stake.
The Tigers were awarded the No. 1 seed after defeating their top contender, Navy, in the finals of the Southern Invitational a week and a half ago. Princeton overcame the Midshipmen, 6-5, pulling through on the strength of its varied attack and the goaltending ability of senior co-captain Jon Pharris. The team's six goals were scored by five different players, which left Navy unable to focus their defense on any one particular threat.
"Our team as a whole played all-around better than them," junior Robert Urquhart said, one of the five Tigers to score. "Our first three guys didn't beat them, our entire team did. I'd say it was our best all-around game."
The Eastern Championships combine the four best teams from both the Northern and Southern Invitationals, creating a very competitive field that could see any of several universities taking the championship. The five teams that have the best shot at winning, however, are probably Princeton, St. Francis, Harvard, UMass, and Queens. To give an idea of just how close the tournament will be, Princeton has both beaten and lost to all of those teams during the season, and every game except for one came down to a single goal.
To prepare for the challenge, the Tigers have been working on their offense and counter-attack in an effort to fine-tune their offense to a championship level. Since Southerns ended in early November, Princeton has had a fair amount of time to rest up and concentrate their strategy and goals for the coming matches.
"If we get two goals a game on counter-attack, we'll probably win," said Pharris. "Also, we're going to have to make at least fifty percent of our man-ups to win the tournament."
When Princeton plays UMass this weekend they will need to be able to perform at the highest level, despite the game's first-round status. Though UMass finished fourth in the Northern Invitational, its ability to contend was limited by the absence of its two best players, both of who will be available for Easterns. In the first postseason tournament of the year UMass ousted Princeton in the semifinals and later went on to win the title.
"I think [the UMass game] is probably our toughest matchup, though you never know at this point" Urquhart said.
"Whoever wins this game is going to the finals," Pharris said.
Were the Tigers to win, they would most likely face St. Francis's offensively-focused program in the semifinals, before possibly facing Queens in the finals.
For now, though, Princeton must take one game at a time. In a draw this loaded with talent, almost every game could be a possible final match.
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