LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA — When the final whistle sounded at Uytengsu Aquatics Center on Friday afternoon, the Princeton men’s water polo (28–5 overall, 9–1 Northeast Water Polo Conference) continued its historic season and advanced to the NCAA semifinals.
Princeton started off strong, not allowing the University of California-Irvine (UCI) Anteaters (18–1, 4–1 Big West) to ever have a lead. The Tigers executed their defensive game plan perfectly and capitalized off the Anteater mistakes en route to a 12–7 win.
“We know where their talent is,” Head Coach Dustin Litvak told the Daily Princetonian. “We were really organized and aware — the guys really just bought in. The energy was great.”
With the win, the Tigers set a new program record with 28 wins. Even more impressive, Litvak’s squad is heading to the Final Four for the first time since the NCAA expanded the tournament in 2013. The Tigers move on to play the No. 1 seeded University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA) Bruins (25–2, 7–0 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) this afternoon at 5 p.m. EST, with a chance to make the national championship game for the first time in program history.
Junior defender Vladan Mitrovic opened the scoring started for the Tigers with an absolute rocket of a shot from the top of the key. The goal marked the 50th goal of the season for the Serbian native.
Princeton 1, UC Irvine 0 / 6:39 1st
— Princeton Water Polo (@Pwaterpolo) December 1, 2023
Vladan strikes first for the Tigers! pic.twitter.com/0NqmKyJFVf
“I want to thank the coaching staff and my teammates for putting me in this position for supporting me throughout this entire season,” Mitrovic told the ‘Prince’. “For us, this was a very important first game and how we approached it and utilized our game plan.”
The Princeton defense made life difficult for the Anteater offense, forcing low quality shots throughout the beginning of the quarter. On the Tiger offense, first-year utility Finn LeSieur scored off a power play to make it 2–0 Tigers.
With 2:39 to go in the first period, sophomore utility JP Ohl found junior utility Mason Killion to make it 3–0. The assist was Ohl’s 100th career assist, with this one proving to be one of the most important. The hot start from the Tigers forced a timeout from UCI head coach Dan Klatt, who appeared frustrated with his team's defensive effort following the goal from Killion. The timeout proved to be crucial for the Anteaters, who scored two goals to end the quarter.
“We struggled to establish our press,” Klatt told the ‘Prince’ postgame. “We didn’t execute our game plan — I should have adjusted the game plan and that’s on me. What we were doing wasn’t working. We struggled to do the things we talked about stopping. [Princeton] did what they do well by capitalizing on our mistakes.”
In the second quarter, the Tigers used their momentum to increase their lead. It was Ohl once again who found junior center George Caras on another power play. The Anteaters simply had no answer for Ohl, who threatened on the power play every time he got the ball. Up 4–2, senior captain and attacker Yurian Quinones put the ball in the back of the net, bringing the Tiger crowd to their feet.
The Anteaters still had gas left in their tank, scoring two goals to cut the Princeton deficit to one at 5–4. However, the Anteaters had no answer for the Princeton power play, as Quinones scored again to put the Tigers up 6–4.
One year ago, Quinones was part of the Princeton squad who lost to USC in the NCAA quarterfinals. Quinones — a senior at the time — still had an extra year of eligibility due to the Covid–19 pandemic. He chose to take the spring semester off and run it back with his men for another year, a decision that has paid off for Quinones and the Tigers.
“It feels truly incredible,” Quinones said postgame. “It was one of the best decisions I have made — taking the gap semester and being able to come back for my fourth season.”
“I’m really excited to be here and really proud of how far we’ve come this season. I’m excited to see where we’re headed and how we play tomorrow.”
After a string of defensive stops by both sides, the score was still deadlocked at 6–4 with 2:20 to go in the first half. After the Princeton offense drew an exclusion on the perimeter, Litvak called a 30 second timeout to get his desired lineup in. The lineup delivered with Ohl getting yet another assist to Killion on the power play to make it 7–4.
Ohl to Killion.
— Daily Princetonian Sports (@PrinceSports) December 1, 2023
Like clockwork
7-4 Tigers pic.twitter.com/R6sUuUWBye
To start the second half, Mitrovic once again fired a shot past goalie Jacob Pyle. The goal gave the Tigers an 8–4 lead, the largest lead of the game thus far. Following the Tiger goal, defender Jake Lietchty scored for UCI to cut the deficit back to three.
“We found the holes, but we weren’t able to finish which is even more frustrating knowing that you had the chances and opportunities,” Lietchy said postgame. “Credit to [the Tigers] — they played very good defense and were super organized, and they know where everyone is.”
Every time Princeton needed a goal, Litvak turned to Ohl. On the following possession, Ohl found LeSieur to extend the lead back to four. It was Ohl’s fourth assist of the game and LeSieur’s second goal.
The Princeton defense continued to storm the Anteaters every chance they had and cause problems for the Anteater offense. A combination of offensive fouls and missed shots was the story of the third period for UCI. Sophomore utility Logan McCarroll scored off a pass from LeSieur on the counter attack to make it 10–5. At the end of the third period, it was 10–6 Tigers.
The Princeton crowd could start to feel it. The Tigers were now eight minutes away from an appearance in the Final Four.
To start the final quarter, center Tyler Padua scored to cut the deficit to three. The Anteaters were in a similar situation, as the squad was down 10–7 in their Big West semifinal game against UC Davis with six minutes remaining. They managed to fight back and win 11–10.
The Tigers were determined to not allow the Anteaters to get a chance at a comeback like they had with the Aggies. Mitrovic’s hat trick and a goal from junior attacker Gavin Molloy would put the game away for UCI. The Anteaters failed to score for the remainder of the game.
Similarly, junior star utility Roko Pozaric — who leads the Tigers with 74 goals on the season — did not score on Friday afternoon for the first time all season.
“We’ve talked all year about not being based on one person or two people,” Litvak told the ‘Prince’. “Roko’s an excellent player who does so many things for us even if he doesn’t score, but there were so many guys who stepped up after Irvine scored.”
Final Four Bound! pic.twitter.com/cFWvz815ZL
— Daily Princetonian Sports (@PrinceSports) December 1, 2023
First-year goalie Kristóf Kovács finished the game with eight saves for the Tigers. The Tigers remained poised defensively, with only five exclusions compared to 15 for the Anteaters.
For the Anteaters, their historic season did not live to see another day. After making the NCAA tournament for the first time in 30 years, the inexperience proved to be a factor in the loss today. The Anteaters still had a lot to be proud of, giving their fans something to cheer for day in and day out and exceeding all preseason expectations.
“I think 30 years of inexperience came to light during that game versus a team that is experienced in this tournament now and was poised and motivated to move on to the next round. We got out-hungered a bit today,” Klatt added.
Up next for the Tigers will be the No. 1 seeded UCLA Bruins. Coached by a legendary head coach, Adam Wright, the former U.S.A. water polo olympian has guided the Bruins to four national championships in his 14 seasons with the program.
“The mindset is to just come in and play how we know how to play, the way we’ve been practicing all season long. We’re gonna come in completely fearless with nothing to lose and a lot of energy,” Quinones said.
The Bruins are one of the deepest teams in the country. Led by Cutino Award frontrunner Rafael Real Vergara, the senior from Sao Paulo is one of the most prolific scorers in the country.
“Starting with our defense and having a great transition will be the biggest thing,” Wright told the ‘Prince’ after finding out that his team will be playing the Tigers.
“If we can push the counter the right way, we’ll have a balanced frontcourt. Dusty’s done a great job with his team and they’re a great team. It starts with our defense and in our transition.”
Alongside Vergara is a mix of star studded talent wherever you look in the water. Seniors Jack Larsen, Makoto Kenney, and Giorgio Alessandria were named to the All-MPSF first team earlier this year and are a threat to set up scoring opportunities any time the ball is in their hands. Senior Garret Griggs is in the midst of an amazing season in cage for the Bruins, allowing under nine goals per game. Lastly, first-year Ben Liechty was one of the top recruits in the country this year and was named the MPSF Newcomer of the Year.
Notably, Litvak was a part of Wright’s coaching staff at UCLA for five seasons before landing the job for Princeton. The Tigers have never beat the Bruins in their history. The two sides met earlier this season on Oct. 18, with the Bruins coming out with a 12–10 win. Mitrovic scored four goals in that contest to pace the Tigers.
“[Mitrovic] is good,” Wright told the ‘Prince’. “But you have to know where he is in the pool. He is no doubt a good shooter and a good player, but we have to let him work and can’t let him be free because he will hurt you.”
It will be a tough task for the Tigers, but all the pressure is on the Bruins who come into the game as heavy favorites to make an appearance in the national championship.
Litvak ended the presser by saying — “We belong here. We played these guys once and we were close. We’ll be ready.”
Hayk Yengibaryan is an associate Sports editor at the ‘Prince.’
Please send corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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