Hosting the Northeast Water Polo Conference tournament in DeNunzio this weekend, the No. 12 Tigers looked to win their second consecutive Collegiate Water Polo Association conference title and qualify for their second NCAA championship tournament in a row. Ultimately, despite a hard-fought struggle against Ivy League rival Harvard, these aspirations would be lost in a tough 14-13 loss to the Crimson.
The Tigers entered the campaign on a strong note. Despite a rash of injuries and some tough heartbreakers in the season’s opening invitational tournaments, like a triple overtime 12-11 defeat at the hands of UC Santa Barbara, they rallied to produce a strong regular season, going 8-2, including an impressive 4-1 run at the end of the season that was finally ended after a 13-9 loss at Brown.
Despite significant losses to graduation and injury, a supposedly inexperienced and untested Princeton team fought well all season. With a dynamic offense spearheaded by prolific scorer sophomore driver Matt Payne and a stingy defense led by All-American goalie Vojislav Mitrovic, the team’s sole problem seemed to be a lack of focus during non-scoring moments in the game. Freshman Sean Duncan, who has netted 45 goals this season, was named the CWPC All-American rookie of the year. Payne’s 52 assists almost netted another season record, and the sophomore was named to the all-conference first team. Mitrovic and Duncan were joined by junior attack Jordan Colina and sophomore utility Ryan Wilson in the All-American second team.
The Crimson, however, came into the 2016 season an extremely strong team as well. Led by its first-team NWPC seniors Joey Colton and Dan Stevens, Harvard had one of the best seasons in program history, finishing 22-6 and 8-3 in conference play and earning a national ranking of No. 11, one above the Tigers. Both teams seemed quite evenly matched coming into the tournament: before Saturday’s game, Harvard and Princeton had each won one game against each other this season.
Saturday’s game was an exciting, seesaw affair. The Crimson struck first and furiously in the pool, at one point holding a 7-4 lead, the largest margin any team would hold during the game. A furious comeback spearheaded by Payne, who would score 6 goals in the game, brought the Tigers to 8-7 by halftime. The third quarter was another flurry of furious offense and superb goalie play by Mitrovic, with the score held at 11-10. In the final quarter, it seemed that the resilient Tigers might eke out a win, when sophomore driver Michael Swart and Duncan scored two in a row to bring the Tigers to 12-11. Harvard responded ruthlessly and decisively, however, with Harvard star senior Colton tying the score and finally breaking the backs of the Tigers with a coup de grace with 54 seconds on the clock.
Despite the heartbreak, the Tigers would rebound quickly to score a strong 18-13 victory over No. 20 St. Francis College, earning a third place finish in the tournament, while Harvard would go on to defeat Brown and clinch a position in the NCAA tournament. Despite the loss and disappointment, the Tigers have continuously impressed fans with their resolve, determination, and grit in the face of adversity.
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