Despite a 2-1 weekend record, the men's water polo team returned disappointed after its 14-game league win streak was snapped by a feisty Bucknell squad. Senior co-captain John Stover scored eight goals in three games this weekend as No. 13 Princeton defeated Navy and Johns Hopkins but fell to Bucknell in overtime. With the mixed results, the Tigers move to 10-3 on the season and 4-1 in the CWPA Southern Division.
Princeton's first match of the weekend was against No. 14 Navy. The Midshipmen (11-5 overall, 2-0 CWPA) were fresh off a third-place finish at last weekend's ECAC tournament in Princeton and looked to challenge the Tigers, who they did not have the opportunity to play there.
The two teams' close rankings and similar records proved to be an accurate indicator of how competitive the match would be.
Navy scored early and jumped out to a 1-0 lead, but Princeton answered back with five goals to take a 6-3 lead at the half.
The third quarter saw the Tigers' potent offense notch two more goals, while their solid defense held the Midshipmen scoreless. Navy rallied to score three goals in the fourth quarter, but it was too little, too late as the clock wound down and secured Princeton's 8-6 victory.
Junior center Nick Seaver led the Tigers with three goals in the game, while sophomore utility Zack Beckmann chipped in two. Stover and freshman drivers Brendan Colgan and Douglas Wigley each scored one goal.
In an effort to determine a starting goalie, sophomore Scott Syverson and senior Gant Morgner split time in the cage. Syverson stopped four shots on goal in the first half, while Morgner made six saves in the second.
Princeton's second contest of the day was against Johns Hopkins, a team the Tigers had defeated by a 14-5 margin at last weekend's ECAC tournament.
The game proved to be much closer than the two teams' previous matchup. Though Princeton controlled the majority of the match, the team had trouble finding the net and only defeated the Blue Jays by a score of 10-8.
Stover stepped up to tally five goals in the game, while Seaver added two.
Syverson recorded three saves in the first half, and Morgner notched two saves in the second half.
Sunday's match against Bucknell turned out to be a much different story.
The two teams were competitive from the very beginning, as both scored three goals in the first quarter. Junior driver Chris Kelsch and junior utility Reid Joseph then scored goals in the second quarter to give Princeton a 5-4 lead at halftime.
The Bison picked up momentum in the third quarter, netting three goals to take a 7-5 lead.
The fourth quarter featured stifling offense and abundant scoring on both sides. Bucknell tallied two goals to the Tigers' one and held a 9-6 lead with five minutes remaining. Late goals by freshman utility Eric Vreeland, senior utility Mike McKenna and Joseph, however, knotted the score at nine and forced the game into OT.
The Bison took a commanding lead in the first overtime half, scoring three unanswered goals. Princeton retaliated in the second half with goals from Seaver and senior co-captain Jamal Motlagh, but the Tigers were unable to muster another game-tying goal. The final score remained 12-11.
Vreeland led the Tigers in the game with three goals, while Joseph and Stover added two apiece. Syverson and Morgner again split time in the goal, with Syverson making four saves in the first half and Morgner five in the second.
With the win, Bucknell broke its 17-game losing streak to Princeton. The last time the Tigers dropped a league game was at the end of the 2003 season.
The Tigers will look to redeem themselves next weekend when they travel to California to take on some always-challenging West Coast squads, including defending national champion UCLA.
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