Harvard sinks Princeton 13–12 in double OT

For three-and-a-half quarters, it looked like the Tigers (9–3 overall, 2–1 conference) were well on their way to acing their biggest test of the season to date. The men’s water polo team was just a few minutes away from extracting revenge against the Crimson (11–3, 3–0), who downed the Tigers in a heartbreaking NWPC Championship game last season and taking the lead in this year’s NWPC standings.

The Crimson then rallied to tie the game and a few minutes later, stunned the Tigers and their fans in double overtime.

In front of a rowdy Princeton crowd at DeNunzio Pool, the No. 7 Crimson got the last laugh by besting the No. 12 Tigers 13–12 in sudden-death double overtime on Sunday. In the biggest game of the season for both teams thus far, Harvard earned a statement victory over the Tigers and remained undefeated in conference play. Meanwhile, the Tigers suffered their third straight loss in the series; all three of those games have been decided by one goal, with the last two requiring double overtime to decide a winner.

The Tigers came out firing on all cylinders, which was a great sign after rocky starts against MIT (5–6, 1–2) and Brown (8–7, 1–2) the day before. Princeton jumped out to a quick 2–0 lead after goals by senior utility Ryan Wilson and first-year center Wyatt Benson. The Crimson responded on its ensuing possession, but the Tigers continued to put pressure on Crimson goalkeeper Anthony Ridgley, using penetrating ball movement and neutralizing the Harvard shot blockers throughout the first part of this game.

Taking a 5–2 lead into the second quarter, the Tigers continued to trade goals with the Crimson and had opened up an 8–4 lead by halftime. Throughout the second quarter, Princeton certainly looked like the better team; playing with great pace, the Tigers seemed to find the open space almost every time they entered the offensive zone. Perhaps the best example of this was when Wilson received the ball off a fast break and — matching up one on one against Ridgley — surprised everyone by floating a shot over the goalkeeper’s head, which found the back of the net and ignited the Princeton crowd even further. In contrast, the Crimson was able to find some chances, but had to work extremely hard to do so. More often than not, Harvard’s offense looked unable to compete with the Princeton defense in the first half.

Holding on to a four-goal lead, the Tigers looked ready to put the game away in the third. Halfway through the third quarter, the Tigers were up 10–5 after Wilson’s third goal of the game, forcing the Crimson to take a timeout. With the poor defense that it was playing, it did not seem like Harvard would be able to get back in this game.

But after the timeout, the game seemed to slowly change. The Tiger defense became a bit more susceptible to fast break scores. The biggest change came in Harvard’s defense; ball movement that previously gave Princeton open chances now seemed to do nothing as Harvard forced Princeton into not only many more empty possessions, but ones in which the Tigers did not even get a shot off. A 10–5 lead shrank to 11–8 lead by the end of the third quarter.

With momentum clearly on Harvard’s side, the Tigers looked to play sound defense and hold on to earn the win. However, a complete disappearance of Princeton’s offensive success allowed Harvard to climb back in the game. With just a one-goal difference heading into the closing minute, Alex Tsotadze tied the game for Harvard and stunned the Princeton crowd with his second straight goal. Princeton nearly lost the game in regulation after a Tiger penalty gave Harvard a five-meter penalty shot with less than 10 seconds to go. However, a big-time stop by first-year goalie Billy Motherway kept the Tigers in the game and gave them new life heading into overtime.

Tsotadze struck again in overtime to give the Crimson a 12–11 lead, its first lead of the game. The team that was once clearly rattled by Princeton now looked calm and ready to earn a comeback win. However, sophomore utility Alec Mendelsohn tied the game with 1:35 left in overtime and forced the game into sudden-death double overtime. Hoping to recapture the lead, the Tigers couldn’t retrieve opening possession and Crimson senior Nick Bunn — playing in his hometown — buried the ball in the back of the net to ice the game for the Crimson. The team that had led for only four-and-a-half minutes in this game came away with a critical mid-season victory.

For the Tigers, this will certainly take some time to get over. The ghosts of last year’s championship game seemed to come back in the second half of this contest, and a chance to bury the story once and for all was lost. Now, Princeton will be chasing Harvard in the NWPC standings until its next chance to beat the Crimson. Luckily, it will not have to wait long: Next Saturday will be the rematch game in Cambridge. Princeton has two more road games against NWPC opponents — St. Francis Brooklyn (3–9, 3–1) and MIT — before the Harvard game. Assuming the Tigers take care of business this week, next Saturday’s game will likely decide the division winner and the No. 1 seed in the NWPC Tournament.

For now, it is time for the Tigers to put this behind them and regroup. For three-and-a-half quarters, it was clear they were the better team in the pool; hopefully next time they can prove it for four.