Men's water polo finishes season in fourth place nationally

It was a tough weekend for the men's water polo team (25-5), which dropped a thriller to second-seeded UCLA (24-3) on Saturday and was edged out, 6-5, against Loyola Marymount (21-11) on Sunday during the Final Four tournament in Palo Alto, Calif.

This was the first Princeton appearance at the Final Four in 12 years and the culmination of a fantastic season. This weekend is also the last game for the four seniors on the team, including goalie Pete Sabbatini, whose presence in the cage has been an invaluable asset to the Tiger defense.

Sabbatini's solid goaltending cemented the Princeton defense this weekend. His 12 saves were particularly instrumental in keeping the Tigers in the game against the Bruins on Saturday.

UCLA drew first blood on a man-up opportunity with seconds left in the first quarter. But the Tigers' offense pounded the Bruins' defense in the second, and junior driver Dean Riskas soon evened the score. Capitalizing on the Black and Orange momentum, junior center Jamal Motlagh followed up on Riskas' goal with one of his own less than a minute later.

But the Tigers were not able to stave off the Bruins' retaliation for long, and by the close of the first half the teams were tied at two all.

Both teams were relentless in the second half, and play continued back and forth. UCLA took a 3-2 lead when a Bruins' driver lofted one just over Sabbatini's outstretched hands. The Tigers, not letting UCLA stay ahead for long, tied the score, 3-3, before the close of the third.

UCLA scored early in the fourth to regain the lead, though. Princeton scrambled throughout the quarter, actively trying to overcome the Bruins' solid defending. The Tigers' chances to advance into the NCAA finals seemed slimmer with each passing minute until junior driver John Stover, with the calm and determination that has propeled the Princeton offense all season, found the back of the net with 45 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. His goal tied the score, 4-4.

The game was sent into overtime, and the Tigers found themselves in familiar territory. During the finals match of Easterns, Princeton had taken St. Francis into four periods of overtime before nailing the win.

This time, UCLA's Ted Peck scored first in the first period of overtime, making the game 5-4. The period ended without any other scoring, and the mandatory second overtime period ensued.

UCLA's Josh Hewko extended the lead to 6-4 as precious seconds ticked off the clock in the second overtime. Then Stover pulled the Tigers back within one with just 1:38 to go, giving Princeton life going into the final stretch.

Or so it would seem. Only 12 seconds later, UCLA's Albert Garcia cemented the game for the Bruins. His insurance goal gave UCLA a 7-5 win and a berth in the finals and ended Princeton's chance for a title. The Tigers still had one game left, though.

Sunday afternoon, Princeton played for third place against Loyola Marymount.

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The Tigers were first to strike, scoring early in the first quarter, but the Lions were quick to react and scored to close the quarter, up 2-1.

Play went back and forth in the second quarter with each team netting a goal. The Lions started to pull away in the third when a man-up opportunity allowed them to get ahead, 4-2. But Princeton stayed right at their heels, netting one soon after. Later in the quarter, Loyola capitalized on a quick break to jump ahead, 5-3, and again the Tigers responded with a goal to close the gap to 5-4.

Both teams continued to struggle back and forth in the fourth quarter, but Princeton was never quite able to overcome the Lions. Loyola ended the game with a 6-5 victory, giving it a third-place finish.

Senior center Mike Murray had an excellent game, leading the Tigers' offensive effort with two goals. Stover, Seaver and freshman Zach Beckmann each chipped in a goal.