Men's water polo goes to 8-0 to start the season

With three wins over rival Navy heading into last season's Eastern Championship finals, men's water polo looked poised to add the Easterns crown to its already impressive collection of 2003 titles. The Tigers rolled into the game brandishing both the Eastern College Athletic Conference and Southern Championship crowns, but their momentum would not hold as the Midshipmen won the game and the title, 8-6.

Although disappointed at this end to their highly successful season, the Tigers decided to take the old adage of "don't get mad, get even" to heart. Revenge finally came this weekend as No. 9 Princeton (8-0) defeated No. 12 Navy (5-5) on Saturday, 11-10, in Salem, W.V. This win was sandwiched between a 16-11 pounding of Johns Hopkins (5-5) on Thursday and a 14-10 win over Salem International on Saturday to extend the Tigers' season-opening winning streak to eight.

Stover dominates

Junior driver John Stover anchored Princeton's offense in the three games, as he has all season. The All-American racked up 16 goals against the Blue Jays, Midshipmen and Tigers, leading Princeton in each outing.

Stover's two goals in the first quarter against Johns Hopkins helped Princeton jump out to a 3-1 lead that it would not relinquish. The Tigers gathered steam as the game progressed, rocketing in six goals in the second quarter. After consecutive goals by junior utility Mike McKenna to finish the half, Princeton left the pool up, 9-4, and in control.

Hanging on

Although the Blue Jays would make a run in the third quarter to push the score to 12-9, the Tigers turned it on in the fourth and held on for the 16-11 win. Princeton got goals from eight players in the win, including three from sophomore center Nicholas Seaver.

The Tigers showed that they can play as well from behind as they do with the lead on Saturday, as this time it was Navy jumping out to the early lead. The Midshipmen came out of the locker room firing and they were able to build a 5-3 lead by the end of the first quarter. But then, capitalizing on what Navy head coach Michael Schoefield called "a few critical defensive mistakes," Princeton outscored the Midshipmen in the middle quarters, 7-3, to take control of the game by the end of the third.

The Tigers again faced pressure in the fourth quarter, but were able to hold on for the 11-10 victory and a modicum of revenge for last year's season-ending loss.

In addition to four goals by Stover, sophomore utility Reid Joseph scored three crucial goals for the Tigers. Senior goaltender Peter Sabbatini made eight saves in the win.

Upset avoided

After beating Navy, Princeton had to make sure not to let down against Salem. With six goals from Stover, three from junior driver Dean Riskas and two by Seaver, the Tigers made sure to keep their undefeated record intact.

The challenge will be greater this weekend as Princeton defends its ECAC title at the ECAC Championships at Harvard.