Princeton opens 2006 by winning four of five

Men's water polo kicked off a new season last weekend by playing five games in two days in the Princeton Invitational at DeNunzio Pool. The Tigers came out of the weekend with a 4-1 record.

Princeton defeated Queens College with a score of 13-6 in its first match. Nine different Tigers scored goals in the game, with senior captain Nicholas Seaver leading the way with four goals and freshman Matt Hudnall adding two.

"Everyone got playing time," Coach Luis Nicalao said. "It was great to get them all a chance to get in." The rules for water polo have recently changed on an international level, with each quarter extended from seven minutes to eight this season. Nicalao explained, "They wanted to see games with higher scores. It means we need a balanced scoring attack, and we need to develop the bench."

Junior goalkeeper Scott Syverson led the Tigers' three goalies with five saves in the first half against Queens, while two freshman goalies saw their first collegiate playing time in the second half.

Princeton went on to defeat Fordham University with a score of 13-2. Sophomore driver Brendan Colgan and Hudnall led the offense with three goals each. Syverson made four saves in the first half, and freshman netminder Scottie Hvidt made four saves in the third quarter. Freshman goalie Henry Fyfe added three saves in goal in the fourth quarter.

"We came out strong, and the defense really came together. We're doing a lot of things right," Syverson said. "[The freshman goalies] are holding their own. We are all impressed with their efforts."

Princeton's sole loss this weekend came in its final game on Saturday against the University of the Pacific. Pacific topped Princeton 16-15. Neither team had a stranglehold on the lead at any point during the game. Princeton led, 9-8, at the half but went down 15-11 in the fourth period.

The Tigers tied the game at 15-15 with just over one minute left in the game, but Pacific managed to slip in the winning goal with 29 seconds remaining on the clock. Syverson made 11 saves in the game.

"It was disappointing to lose because we knew that we could have beaten them," Hudnall said.

"We emphasize our defensive effort, and the University of the Pacific team just had quality shooters who punished us for every mistake," Coach Nicalao said. "They exposed what could happen when we made the same mistakes we were making in the other games. It was good to see how strongly we responded and how we were able to come back from being down and tie the game up."

Seven different Tigers scored goals in the game, with sophomore Eric Vreeland leading with five goals, the most goals amassed by a single Tiger in a single game this weekend.

Vreeland honored

Vreeland was named the Collegiate Water Polo Association's Southern Player of the Week after his performance at the Invitational. He scored a total of 11 goals with eight assists in the five games.

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Princeton wrapped up the weekend with two wins on Sunday. The Tigers defeated Iona College in their first game with a score of 17-7. Vreeland led the offense again with three goals, while Princeton's 14 other goals were scored by 14 different Tigers. Hvidt played three quarters in goal and made nine saves, and Fyfe made four saves in goal during the fourth quarter.

Princeton put up one more win in a league game against George Washington University. The Tigers had a solid lead during the whole game, going up 5-1 in the first quarter and achieving a final score of 13-6. Seaver led with three goals, and five other Tigers also scored. Syverson made 11 saves in goal.

The Tigers will not have another home game until October. "It's always an advantage to play at home, but we're glad to get on the road early so we can rest in October for the Championships," Syverson said.

The Tigers will next travel to California to face UC Santa Cruz on September 15. Princeton will then compete in the NorCal Tournament, with its first game against UCLA on September 16.

After returning to the East Coast, the Tigers will compete in the ECAC Tournament, and important test.