Princeton sweeps Bucknell, Hopkins

The men's water polo team, (11-4 overall,4-1 Eastern College Athletic Association) dominated their first two regular season games on Saturday, defeating both Bucknell (7-6) and Johns Hopkins (7-8).

In the opening game, the No. 14 Tigers defeated the No. 17 Bison, 12-9, in Lewisburg, Pa. The game remained close throughout its entirety; it was tied seven times, before Princeton stole it for good with 33 seconds left in the final quarter.

Bucknell scored two goals in the first quarter, leaping to a 2-0 lead. With 35 seconds left in the quarter, however, sophomore utility Eric Vreeland notched the Tigers' first point, bringing Princeton to within one.

At the beginning of the second quarter, Vreeland scored another goal to tie it at 2-2. Senior captain and driver Nicholas Seaver netted the Tigers' next goal, tying the game once more at 3-3.

Both teams added one more goal during the second quarter, and at the half the match was tied at 4-4. Sophomore driver Douglas Wigley scored the fourth goal with 50 seconds left in the half.

In the third quarter, Seaver earned his second goal, and sophomore driver Brendan Colgan and junior utility Zach Beckmann each netted one point. The Tigers took the lead twice during the quarter.

Bucknell scored three points in the quarter as well and at the bell, it was tied 7-7.

Colgan notched another point for Princeton with 33 seconds left in the final quarter to give the Tigers the lead for good. Two goals from Vreeland and one each from freshman utility Gregor Horstmeyer and senior utility Reid Joseph padded Princeton's lead. The Bison ended play with two goals of their own, bringing the score to 12-9.

In the fashion of his exceptional season and keeping his role as Princeton's top scorer so far, Vreeland added four goals. Seaver and Colgan provided vital offensive support, each notching two more goals.

"A lot of the underclassmen, particularly Eric Vreeland and Brendan Colgan are starting to take greater roles in the team and become leaders among the squad," Seaver said.

Junior goalie Scott Syverson was in the net the entire game, making seven saves.

After a fairly close contest with the Bison, Princeton finished its weekend cruising by Johns Hopkins, 15-4. Within minutes of the opening throw, the Tigers sped to a 3-0 lead, and established early that this game would not be close.

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Johns Hopkins was not willing to submit completely to the Tigers' fury after the first quarter, however, adding four goals during the second quarter. But Princeton responded, also earning four points during the quarter. Unfortunately for the Blue Jays, the Princeton offense continued to throw in goals and its defense was effective, as the second quarter would be the last time Johnss Hopkins earned a point. The Tigers completely shut them out during the second half while earning eight goals of their own.

In the final quarter, the Blue Jays only had three attempts, which were all blocked by freshman goalie Scottie Hvidt. Syverson was in the net for the first three quarters and blocked three attempts.

Senior driver Chris Kelsch led the team with three goals, and Vreeland supported the squad, again adding two of his own.

After limiting the Blue Jays to 11 attempts during the game, only four of which they converted to goals, Princeton appears to have improved its man-on-man defense, something that head coach Luis Nicolao wanted the team to work on after their trip to the Northern California Tournament at Stanford two weeks ago.

"To have good team defense everyone needs to be on the same page, and the team is really starting to get there," Seaver said.

Sophomore driver David de L'Arbre agreed, adding that "everyone is playing with a lot of heart and passion."

The Tigers' strong defense kept Johns Hopkins to only two goals from their seven man-up situations, while Princeton converted all five of its man-up situations into points.

Thus far, the Tigers have been an offense-orientated squad, scoring double digits during all 11 of their victories.

Next Saturday, Princeton continues its regular season play at DeNunzio Pool where it faces Navy, which defeated it by two goals in the semifinals of the ECAC championship last weekend, as well as facing NYAC.