Terriers top Tigers in ECAC final

One year later, and still the same story for the men's water polo team. For the second consecutive year, No. 13 St. Francis captured the ECAC crown by defeating the No. 9 Tigers.

Princeton (8-2) fell 10-6 to the Terriers in the ECAC Championship title game held at DeNunzio Pool on Sunday. While the end result was not what the Tiger squad would have hoped, the tournament was not without some highlights. Sunday's loss to St. Francis followed two Princeton victories: a commanding win against Johns Hopkins and an overtime struggle against Bucknell.

The Tigers upended No. 19 Johns Hopkins 14-5 in the first game of the tournament. Princeton was led by senior driver John Stover's five-goal performance, and junior center Nick Seaver chipped in four scores of his own. The game also featured the much-awaited return of two previously injured seniors: center Jamal Motlagh and goalie Gant Morgner.

Saturday night's semifinal game against Bucknell (5-12) proved to be much more of a nail-biter. The Bison, aided by outstanding goalkeeping, kept the score tight throughout the match as the Tigers struggled to finish their offensive attacks. While numerous shots hit the pipe, Stover, senior utility Mike McKenna, freshman utility Eric Vreeland and junior utility Reid Joseph all managed to find the back of the net. Regulation play ended in a 4-4 tie.

Bucknell took a 5-4 lead in the first overtime, but Vreeland retaliated with 50 seconds left in the second half of that overtime period to keep Princeton in the game. The first sudden-death overtime was scoreless, and it wasn't until Stover scored on a four-meter shot with 1:46 left in the second sudden-death overtime that the Tigers finally earned the win, 6-5.

"We had a oneor two-man advantage on a counterattack after a blocked shot," Stover said. "Jamal drew a four-meter, and I was able to score."

Sophomore goalie Scott Syverson stopped three goals in the first half, while Morgner made an impressive return by stopping six shots throughout the remainder of the game.

Princeton's inability to finish offensively against the Bison only foreshadowed what they would experience against St. Francis.

Familiar foes

The title game was just the latest chapter in the intense rivalry between two of the top teams on the East Coast.

"Each year it's a physical battle [when we play St. Francis]," Stover said. "They're by far the most physical team we play — physical in a legal way and in a dirty way. That kind of boils emotions."

In the championship game, the Terriers established dominance early, jumping out to a 4-1 lead in the first quarter and a 7-2 lead at the half. Despite playing both solid offensively and defensively, the Tigers were unable to convert on their man-up opportunities, which ultimately made the difference in the contest.

Stover attributed Princeton's sub-par first half to its inability to convert good looks at the net into goals, while St. Francis had no such trouble.

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"We weren't impressive defensively at the beginning," Stover said. "We had a lot of open shots; they were just hitting the bar. We would miss, and they'd come back with a goal."

McKenna and junior driver Chris Kelsch each scored twice in the Tiger loss, while Syverson and Morgner again split time in goal.

With the win, the Terriers avenged their loss to Princeton earlier this season. The two rivals, clearly the standouts of the Eastern Conference, may meet again in November's Eastern Championships, which determine the automatic Final Four bid.

"Next time we play St. Francis, we've got to be more aggressive on defense and put our shots away early on," Stover said.

The Tigers have more immediate challenges on their hands, however. The team will return to action next weekend at home against CWPA rivals Navy and Johns Hopkins.