M. water polo advances to Final Four

Our collective memory is replete with epic battles: the Battle of Troy, Rocky Balboa vs. Apollo Creed, the Thrilla in Manila, Braveheart — and now the 2004 Eastern Championship. Yesterday, Lewisburg, Pa., became a battleground for a historic clash of water polo proportions between Princeton (25-4) and St. Francis (24-4). Hanging in the balance was the a championship title and a berth in the NCAA Final Four to be played Dec. 4-5.

"It was probably the biggest game of any of our lives," junior center Jamal Motlagh said.

Regulation not enough

At the end of four intense quarters of physical play, the score remained knotted two-all. Although exhausted, both teams were determined to leave the pool with the victory. Their mutual determination resulted in four grueling periods of overtime play that extended the game by an additional 22 minutes. Plaing one of his last games as a Tiger was senior goalie Pete Sabbatini, who was virtually a brick wall in the cage.

Entering the fourth overtime period — the second period of sudden-death — the team was tired but ready to play .

The offensive strike began with a pass from Motlagh to Kelsch. Kelsch, spotting an opening, sent the ball to into the hands of awaiting sophomore driver Nick Seaver. Fitting, the epically-nicknamed "Maximus" Seaver successfully fired one past the Terrier goalie for the 3-2 win. Assisting the momentous goal was sophomore driver Chris Kelsch.

"It was [Seaver's] first and only shot of the game and it went right over the goalie's shoulder," Motlagh said. "Maximus won the crown and earned his freedom."

Celebration

The thrill of the victory saw the entire team, coach included, jump in the pool in celebration. The team had just reclaimed a title that had eluded Princeton since 1992.

"We were stoked," freshman utility Zach Beckmann said.

Getting to the finals required beating MIT (14-12) and Harvard (10-10). Both of these games were played on Saturday, and although the Tigers take no game for granted, odds were heavily in favor of Princeton victories.

Crushing Cambridge

MIT had a surprising performance. Despite lagging behind the Tigers all game, they showed marked improvement over last season season's performance when they suffered a 15-2 defeat to Princeton in the first round of Easterns play. Although the Engineers lost again, they closed the gap a bit making it only a 12-9 loss. Coming out strong offensively for the Tigeres was Seaver with five goals, followed by junior driver John Stover and freshman utility Zach Beckmann who added a pair each.

That afternoon, Princeton was fired up again to take on the Crimson. Princeton was quick to put some distance between the teams, running to a 4-0 lead by the end of the first quarter and diligently pounding away at the Harvard defense, increasing the gap with each quarter. Heading the offensive charge was Stover who tallied three goals as the Tigers mercilessly defeated their Ivy League rival with a crushing 12-3 defeat.

With an Eastern Championship title and one hell of a story under their belts, the Tigers have solidified their status as the beasts of the East — "We run this town," Motlagh said — but they want more. Three weekends from now, they'll head to Palo Alto, Calif., to take on three of the best teams in the nation.