On Saturday at DeNunzio Pool, the men's water polo team topped Iona and George Washington at the Collegiate Water Polo Association Northern-Southern Crossover, winning by lopsided margins of 12-5 and 12-3, respectively. No. 18 Princeton (13-7 overall, 6-2 CWPA Southern Division) held both teams scoreless in the first half, demonstrating again how strong its defense has been this season.
The morning began with a non-league game against Iona (3-16). The Tigers dominated the game from the start, taking an 8-0 lead into halftime. The Princeton defense, led by freshman goalie Ben Dearborn’s 11 saves, shut out the Gaels until about a minute and a half into the third quarter. Iona utility Lee Stiles found the back of the goal on a breakaway to finally put the Gaels on the scoreboard. Junior center Mike Helou paced the Tigers with three goals and added two steals.
In the afternoon, Princeton took on divisional foe George Washington (7-15, 1-4) and registered a 12-3 win. With senior Mike Merlone in goal, the Tigers took a 10-0 lead until utility Adam Streeter put the Colonials on the board to end the third quarter. Helou and sophomore attack Tim Wenzlau netted four goals apiece for the hosts.
“There were a few things we tried to do, but a good team like Princeton took advantage of [our mistakes] and they scored some quick goals," Colonials head coach Scott Reed said.
George Washington beat Iona 10-7 in Saturday’s other game. Iona is now 0-5 this season in two tournaments at DeNunzio Pool and 0-12 all-time against the Tigers.
The Tigers ended the weekend second in the league behind No. 16 Navy, which is 5-1 in the CWPA South this season.
Freshman goalie Tyler Amina, who entered the weekend with less than two minutes of experience this season, played the full fourth quarter in each game. He made seven saves.
"It was good to see the boys focused on these two games," Princeton head coach Luis Nicolao said. "It was really nice to have a chance to put everyone in the water.”
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