Turnover leads to 3OT loss

For four quarters and two overtimes, the No. 15 men's water polo team fought No. 12 Bucknell to a standstill last Friday in Lewisburg, Pa.

But in the third overtime, a single turnover cost the Tigers the game, as the Bisons quickly attacked and scored to take the sudden death victory.

In its first real test of the season, Princeton (6-1 overall, 0-1 Collegiate Water Polo Association Southern Division) was edged by Bucknell (8-1, 3-0) 13-12, just 40 seconds into the third overtime period.

Sometimes, however, it takes a tough loss to really jumpstart a team.

Last season, the team lost twice in a row to No. 3 UCLA and No. 8 Pepperdine, then bounced back to win 13 of its remaining 17 games.

The loss to Bucknell may or may not have the same effect, but the Tigers took a large step forward Sunday morning, defeating a tough MIT squad by a score of 12-9.

Against Bucknell, the Tigers played well early, taking a 2-0 lead after one quarter and a 4-3 lead into halftime.

The Bison were quick to counter, however, and a relatively high-scoring second half ended with the two teams deadlocked at 9-9.

True to form, both teams scored twice in the first overtime and once in the second, leaving the scored tied at 12 for the third and final overtime.

In water polo, the third overtime is sudden death and though the Bisons failed to score on their first possession, they took advantage of a Princeton error to seal the victory. As the Tigers moved the ball up the pool to start their first attack of the period, Bucknell stole the ball and counterattacked quickly.

The winning goal, coming on that possession, came just seconds later and left many exhausted Tigers stunned.

"We had a few chances to get a goal in the second half, and we were unable to finish," head coach Luis Nicolao said. Heading into overtime, Nicolao told his team not to make a mistake, a warning that proved difficult to follow.

Get the best of the ‘Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

"This team is very young, and we just made too many errors," Nicolao said. "But I was happy with how our team responded to playing in a hostile environment."

In the loss, the Tigers received a career-high six goals from sophomore utility Mark Zalewski, three goals from freshman driver Jeff Cole and two more from senior utility Zach Beckmann, last week's CWPA Player of the Week.

The team also got a record-breaking performance from senior goalie Scott Syverson, whose 20 saves were the most made by a Princeton goalie in a single game.

The defeat marks the first Divisional loss for the Tigers this season, but Princeton will have a chance for redemption on Oct. 6, when they will play the Bison again, this time at home in DeNunzio Pool.

Following the loss to Bucknell, Princeton returned home for a Sunday morning game against MIT.

The Engineers are a Division III team, but as coach Nicolao was quick to point out, the skill divide between divisions is not as wide in water polo as it is in many other sports.

"They have some very good players, just like us," Nicolao said, whose team took control of the match from the opening whistle. The Tigers won all four quarters, taking a one-goal lead into the locker room at halftime before breaking the game open in the second half.

The game ended with the Tigers up by three, but the contest was not as close as the score indicates.

Beckmann led all scorers with four goals, and Cole and Zalewski each added three of their own.

Sophomore goalie Scott Hvidt and freshman goalie Mike Merlone combined to make 11 saves.

For Nicolao, the MIT game was an opportunity to let his younger players gain some valuable experience, and their ability to bounce back from Friday's tough loss is telling of the team's resiliency and drive.

"It is always nice to get a win, especially with this team having so many new players contribute," Nicolao said. "It will be a season of seeing how we react to different situations. I was very happy with how we reacted and played at Bucknell, and I know we are excited for the challenges ahead."

The Tigers resume play Sunday with a pair of afternoon home games against No. 20 Johns Hopkins and unranked George Washington.