M. water polo goes 3-1 on California road trip

Arnold Schwarzenegger wasn't the only one causing a sensation in the state of California this past weekend as the men's water polo team rocked the West Coast, bringing home three victories.

The Tigers (14-2 overall, 2-0 Ivy League) faced off against their toughest contender last Friday, taking on top-ranked University of California-Berkeley. Berkeley, currently ranked No. 1 (according to SwimInfo.com), has been accumulating the wins and steadily climbing through the rankings this season.

The game started with equal intensity as both sides held the score at 1-1 by the end of the first quarter. By the second quarter, however, Princeton seemed to have undergone a total reversal, losing its spark and allowing the Bears to barrel through the second quarter with a 5-1 lead.

"They [the Bears] basically capitalized on any mistake we made," freshman defender Chris Kelsch said of the Tigers' poor second quarter performance.

Although the Tigers managed to pick up their game in the third and fourth quarters, the Bears' second quarter lead would carry them through to a 12-7 victory.

The game was closer than it seemed, however. It appeared that the Tigers needed some time to adjust, not to the West Coast style of play, but instead to the refereeing.

"The style of play is pretty similar," senior co-captain and two-meter defenseman D.J. Halliday explained, "but the style of reffing is pretty different."

This was particularly true after the referee made a highly contested second-quarter decision following an offensive call for the Tigers on Princeton's end of the pool. The Tigers capitalized on the turnover and sophomore driver John Stover quickly scored the comeback goal.

Well, he almost did. The ref, having not seen Princeton make a pass to make the ball "live," did not allow the point to count.

The game continued to get heated as the Tigers subsequently lost Stover at the end of the second quarter due to ejection and sophomore two-meter Jamal Motlagh in the third due to excessive fouls.

Quick to recover, the Tigers rebounded the next day against Pacific with a hard-earned 11-7 win.

Keeping the score close, Pacific managed to hold the Tigers to a score of 2-2 at the end of the first and 5-5 at the half.

Propelling the offense was Stover, who tallied six goals. These six scores stand as his most on the season.

Freshman two-meter defenseman Reid Joseph netted two in a strong performance. Motlagh, freshman driver Chris Kelsch and sophomore driver Mike McKenna kept the Tigers at a comfortable lead, each contributing one goal.

Guarding the net was junior Pete Sabbatini who kept up the defense by posting 12 saves.

"John Stover really played well," Halliday said. "He was definitely the driving force behind that game."

Sunday, the Tigers faced University of California-Davis. Both teams, currently tied in the No. 12 spot, played the first quarter conservatively, keeping the game scoreless until the second quarter. Princeton then tore ahead in the second, putting a four-goal difference between it and Davis by the end of the quarter and allowing the team to finish the game with a 6-4 win.

Stover had another amazing game, netting two goals and dominating the sprints. Halliday, sophomore driver T.J. Edwards, junior two-meter Mike Murray and Kelsch also boosted the tally with one goal apiece.

The same day, Princeton took on Air Force, and predictions of parity held true as the Falcons and the Tigers battled it out for what would ultimately be a 7-6 Princeton win.

The power trio of Stover, Motlagh, and Kelsch helped keep the Falcons to a score of 3-3 at the half. Stover came out strong again in the second half, notching two more goals. Kelsch and Reid followed suit with one each.

The Tigers, though happy for the win, were not as pleased with their play.

'Worn down'

"I think we were pretty tired and worn down from the weekend," Halliday said of the close score. "Teams like [Air Force] we should be able to put away early on."

For a team accustomed to ambushing the opposition early, the weekend's string of slow starts have been a cause of concern.

"It is really important for us to not allow this to happen," Kelsch said. "We've been letting teams stay in the game lately."

Still, flying back acoss the country, Princeton had nothing to be ashamed of. Despite a couple of bad calls and a few slow starts, this latest trip stands as a testament to how far the Tigers have come.