Tigers fall to St. Francis, third at Easterns

Coming off a second-place finish at Southerns two weekends ago, the No. 15 men's water polo team (21-10 overall) went into the Eastern Championships this past weekend, hosted by Harvard, hoping for a repeat performance of last year's first-place finish. Last season, the Princeton beat St. Francis, 3-2, in the finals to snag the Easterns title.

The Tigers, seeded at No. 3, had no such luck this past weekend, however, as the team fell to the same Terrier team that it beat last season in the semifinals, ending the tournament in third place after placing victories over Harvard, 9-5, and later Bucknell, 10-4, in the consolation game.

The Tigers' first game came on Saturday afternoon against Harvard. In the 9-5 victory, sophomore utility Zach Beckmann scored three goals, and senior drivers Dean Riskas and John Stover both scored two. Senior goalie Grant Morgner had seven saves in the win.

Later that night, Princeton faced off against No. 12 St. Francis in the tournament semifinals. Though eight Tigers scored in the game, including two by junior utility Reid Joseph, Princeton lost 11-9.

Despite the disappointing outcome, Princeton played the Terriers closely throughout the game.

The loss was "bittersweet," senior center Jamal Motlagh said. "We all came together and gave it everything we had. While we aren't happy about the outcome, we know that we gave it our all and played the best we could."

Even while trailing St. Francis by several goals for a large part of the game, the Tigers never gave up, bringing the game to a tie in the fourth quarter.

"We kept fighting for it, and I think that speaks volumes about what kind of team we are," sophomore goalie Scott Syverson said.

The game was also marked by strong performances on an individual level. Morgner made nine saves during the loss. The defensively-oriented Motlagh was able to shut down the St. Francis offense.

"I believe that I played the best I have ever played," Motlagh said. "As a defensive specialist, it's always a pleasure and a challenge to go up against such an offensively-oriented team, and I was able to stop [Botond Szalma], their best player and probably the best player on the East Coast."

The team was nonetheless able to rebound from the loss to the Terriers with a dominating 10-4 victory over Bucknell on Sunday afternoon to secure third place at Easterns. In their final Princeton water polo game, Stover and Motlagh both scored for a combined five goals for the Tigers. Junior center Nick Seaver scored two goals, and Beckmann, Joseph and freshman utility Eric Vreeland also scored.

Reflecting on what was undoubtedly a great season, Motlagh said, "There is nothing worse than losing a game when you know that you and your team didn't play well, and we definitely don't have that feeling."

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While this season may have ended with somewhat less of a bang than last season's fourth-place NCAA finish, it was still marked by successes for both individual players and for the team as a whole. In an awards ceremony Friday night before the tournament started, Stover was named to the All-Southern first team for the third consecutive year, and Seaver earned All-Southern second team honors. The team also ended the season with over 20 wins for the fourth time in a row.

And indeed, there is hope for the future, as many underclassmen, including Seaver, Beckmann and Syverson, put forth strong efforts both this past weekend and throughout the entire season.

"At least for the next three years, Princeton water polo will keep dominating," Motlagh said. "We have an amazing group of freshmen, sophomores and juniors that will uphold this fine tradition."