Men's Water Polo: Princeton upset vs. Bucknell, wins two

The No. 12 Tigers (10-8 overall, 4-1 Collegiate Water Polo Association Southern Division) were quick to admit that they came into Friday’s game lacking intensity.

“This weekend, we didn’t play as well as we could have,” junior utility Eric Vreeland said. “We had a wake-up call on Friday against Bucknell.”

Coming off a great trip to California, during which Princeton went 2-3 against some of the best teams in the country, the Tigers faced the Bison (13-11, 4-3 CWPA) in Lewisburg, Pa., on Friday night. Unfortunately for Princeton, the result was not what it expected, as the Tigers were outplayed by their longtime nemesis and lost, 11-6.

“We came back [from California] a little overconfident,” Vreeland said. “We thought that we were a little better than we are.”

The first quarter ended in a 2-2 tie, but after that Bucknell set the tone. The Bison scored two unanswered goals in the second quarter, and their defense shut down the Tigers’ attack. Princeton narrowed the gap to 4-3 in the third quarter, but Bucknell went on a 6-0 run that spanned much of the third and fourth quarters and doomed the Tigers. Princeton scored three goals in the last two minutes, but it could not overcome the massive deficit. Leading the team in scoring were senior utilities Alex Edmunds and Brendan Colgan, with two apiece.

“We struggled offensively,” Vreeland said. “We made their goalie look really good. Once they got up a couple of goals, we kind of gave up.”

After a team meeting Friday night, the Tigers came out Saturday determined to win.

“We knew we didn’t want to make the whole weekend bad,” Vreeland said.

At 11 a.m. Saturday, while most Princeton students were still sleeping, the Tigers outlasted Johns Hopkins (9-16) in an important Southern Division game. Princeton’s attack, spearheaded by three goals from Colgan, led the team to a 2-1 advantage after the first quarter and a 3-2 lead at the half. The Tigers kept up their performance in the second half, answering when the Blue Jays tied the game at five by scoring two goals to win 7-5.

“We came out from the get-go ready to play,” Vreeland said.

Princeton continued its success in the afternoon, dominating Mercyhurst (13-6), a CWPA Southern Division Western Region opponent, 10-5. Leading the Tigers with five goals on the afternoon was Colgan once again. The senior finished with 10 goals over the three weekend games.

Princeton led the game 6-4 at the half, and a 3-0 run in the third quarter sealed the victory. Sophomore goalie Mike Merlone and junior goalie Scott Hvidt combined for 16 saves on Saturday, with Merlone playing against Hopkins and Hvidt against Mercyhurst.

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“We came back on Saturday and showed what we can do,” Vreeland said. “Hopefully, we’ll continue to play that well.”

The Tigers have another tough weekend coming up, but luckily for them they will be playing at home. As they discovered in Lewisburg, home-field advantage is important, especially when playing from behind.

“We let the crowd get to our heads [on Friday],” Vreeland said. “We learned that being at home is a huge advantage.”

Princeton begins a five-game homestand to close out its regular season this weekend at DeNunzio Pool. Four of those games will be played this weekend. On Friday, the Tigers will face rival Bucknell and attempt to avenge this weekend’s defeat. Saturday brings two games, one in the afternoon against George Washington and a night game against Iona. No. 17 Navy, a team that the Tigers beat this year for the first time in 10 games, comes to town Sunday afternoon. Princeton still has a chance to secure the top seed in the Southern Championships, which will be hosted at DeNunzio Pool the weekend of Nov. 8.

“The results from everyone’s games [this weekend] have shown that there’s no dominant team in the East,” Vreeland said. “Anyone can win it. It all depends on who’s playing the best when it counts.”