LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA — After a grueling 32 minutes of water polo, another historic season for the No. 4 seeded and No. 5 ranked Princeton men’s water polo team (28–6 overall, 9–1 Northeast Water Polo Conference) came to an end in the national semifinals, when they lost 17–13 to the No. 1 seeded and No.3 ranked University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Bruins (26–2, 7–0 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation).
The 2023 Tigers set a program record 28 wins, made the final four for the first time since the tournament expansion in 2013, and scored a program record 471 goals, all while having far fewer resources and practice time than the powerhouse schools in California.
“We wanted to come in and play with the best team in the country, a team that’s lost two games all year when they were not at full strength,” head coach Dustin Litvak told The Daily Princetonian.
The loss brought the all-time series record between the two schools to 19–0 for the Bruins, but the Tigers played a strong game, keeping up with the top-ranked team in the nation.
“We were there all the way through. I’m just so proud of these guys for never giving up and buying in,” Litvak continued. “We just kept fighting. Our goal coming in was to show that an east coast team can be nationally competitive with any team in the country, regardless of our restrictions — no summer training, less offseason training, harder academic rigor — we’re absolutely doing that. I love these guys. They poured everything in this game.”
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Tigers were losing to teams like the Bruins by double-digits, with the game being over by halftime. The Ivy League limits the Tigers’ schedule, banning practicing during the summer and only allowing practice on a limited schedule in the spring. Meanwhile, the Bruins practice year round, including two practices a day in the summers, totaling up to nearly six hours a day.
The fact that Princeton kept up with a storied program like UCLA is a testament to how far Litvak has brought this program in his five-year tenure. Litvak was even a part of Bruins head coach Adam Wright’s coaching staff at UCLA for five seasons prior to getting the job at Princeton.
“That’s a special game for us at UCLA because Dusty Litvak is part of the UCLA family,” Wright told the ‘Prince’ after the game.
The Tigers went toe-to-toe with the Bruins for the first half, leading by one at the halftime break. But, by the end of the third quarter, the Bruins had the one goal advantage, up 11–10, and, unfortunately for the Tigers, the Bruins completely pulled away in the fourth quarter.
Right out of the gates, sophomore utility Luke Johnston drew an exclusion to give Princeton a power play. Junior defender Vladan Mitrovic skipped the ball past Bruin goalie Garret Griggs to give the Tigers an early 1–0 lead. Mitrovic was crucial the last time the Tigers played the Bruins, scoring four goals in a narrow 12–10 defeat.
Attacker Jack Larsen got the scoring started for the Bruins on the transition to tie the game at one a piece. The Tigers responded, with senior attacker and captain Pierce Maloney scoring from over 10 meters out to give the Tigers a 2–1 lead. Maloney led the Tigers in Saturday’s contest with a hat trick.
Princeton 2, UCLA 1 / 4:32 1st
— Princeton Water Polo (@Pwaterpolo) December 2, 2023
Pierce Pinpoint! pic.twitter.com/fWO4mUxXmn
“We intended to set out this season with lofty goals and to remind everyone in the water polo world that we can compete and we belong here,” Maloney told the ‘Prince.’ “I believe we have successfully sent that message. We fight to earn every next day together so hard and that is what’s so special about this program.”
After a stop by first-year goalie Kristóf Kovács, the Tigers got out in transition and attacked the Bruin defense. After drawing an exclusion, it was junior utility Roko Pozaric who scored to put the Tigers up 3–1. The star from Zagreb, Croatia finished the season with 76 goals, 48 assists, and 41 steals. He will certainly be a name to watch for when the end of season All–Americans are released.
But the Bruins immediately battled back. Two assists from UCLA’s attacker Makoto Kenney set up attacker Wade Sherlock to tie the game at three. Kenney was named the player of the game, finishing with a career-high eight assists to pace the Bruins offensively.
“He’s truly had a special year and a guy I believe could represent our country,” Wright said about Kenney. “He sees the pool so well. I think what people miss is how he good he is defensively. He’s a student of the game and a massive piece of our program. He makes the team go."
In the dying seconds of the first period, Bruins attacker Rafael Real Vergara lasered the ball right past the nose of Kovács to put the Bruins up 4–3. The attacker from Sao Paulo, Brazil is one of the frontrunners to win the Peter J. Cutino Award, an annual award given to the most outstanding water polo player of the year.
Next, a one-on-one between Kenney and Kovács looked to put the Bruins up 5–3, but Kovács had other plans, making his fifth save of the contest to keep the UCLA offense at bay. However, after Mitrovic got his second exclusion of the game, Sherlock completed his hat trick off of Kenney’s assist, giving the Bruins a deserved two-goal lead.
“I love passing to my teammates,” Kenney told the ‘Prince.’
The two-goal deficit helped the Tigers flip the switch. Maloney scored on a power play, putting the ball right past goalie Garret Griggs. After the Bruins scored to make it 6–4, the Tigers continued to fight back. Mitrovic scored from the outside to make it a one-goal game.
On the Bruins power play, Pozaric stole the ball from Kenney. Pozaric went all the way, out-swimming the three Bruin defenders following him and tying the game at six with under two minutes remaining in the half. The goal brought the rowdy Princeton crowd to its feet.
Larsen silenced the crowd with a quick goal in transition to put UCLA up 7–6, but, on the other end, a missed shot from sophomore utility JP Ohl landed right in front of sophomore utility Logan McCarroll, who put the ball in the back of the net to tie the contest at seven.
After an offensive foul in the following possession, the Tigers had the ball with 20 seconds remaining in the half. Senior attacker and captain Yurian Quinones put the ball in the back of the net to put Princeton up 8–7 heading into halftime, much to the disbelief of the Bruin crowd who expected to hold the lead through start to finish.
To begin the third period, Kenney tied the game up. The senior from Costa Mesa, Calif. has played an important part in bringing energy to the Bruin team at critical moments throughout the season. Litvak had nothing but praise for Kenney and his commitment and dynamic presence on the team.
“You have a player like Mo [Kenney] coming out of high school, who is so individually talented and can go anywhere else in the country and score 1000 goals, but he buys into the system and he knows what his role is,” Litvak added. “If it’s time to shoot, he shoots, but he is also so good at setting up the next day. Credit to Adam [Wright] and his staff.”
The Bruins continued to put their foot on the gas, with two straight goals to go up 10–8. Looking to respond, Ohl found an open window and put the ball past Griggs to make it a one-goal game once more.
The next few minutes of the third period saw both sides come up with crucial field blocks and goalie saves to keep each offense at bay. After a controversial call giving Litvak a yellow card, Larsen completed his hat trick for the Bruins on the power play. On the other end of the pool, the Tigers got it right back on a power play of their own, with junior center George Caras scoring off a redirect. This marked Caras’ 51st goal of the season and made it 11–10 heading into the final period.
After both teams went scoreless starting the fourth period, it was junior utility Mason Killion who put the ball past Griggs off a counter-attack to tie the game at 11. Unfortunately for the Tigers, things went downhill from there. After going back-and-forth with the No. 1 seed in the country for over 25 minutes of game time, the team struggled to keep their foot on the gas.
The Bruins forced yet another Tiger exclusion, and Vergara drilled his shot right through the arms of the Tiger defenders to make it 12–11 UCLA. After getting stops defensively and wearing down the Princeton offense, the Bruins scored on two straight possessions to take a commanding 14–11 lead with three minutes to go.
4Q - 6:08 | Senior Rafael Real Vergara scores his second on an eighth assist from you guess it ... @KenneyMakoto! No. 3 UCLA leads No. 5 Princeton, 12-11.#GoBruins 🐻🤽♂️ pic.twitter.com/laIA0yoTfp
— UCLA Water Polo (@UCLAWaterPolo) December 2, 2023
Litvak tried everything in his power to engineer a Tiger comeback, subbing Kovács out for a field player in an effort to go seven-on-six on offense. His efforts fell short, and the Bruins scored two empty net goals to seal a 17–13 win and advance to the NCAA championship game.
Post-game, Wright was emotional talking about his squad. After losing his father during the season, he spoke highly about how special this team has been.
“They’ve kept me going,” Wright added. “I don’t know what’s gonna happen after tomorrow because these guys have kept me here. Tomorrow evening opens a whole new door for me because I’ve been insulated by these guys. I’m just so grateful for this group and this time we’ve had together.”
After the game, the Tigers were emotional, but also grateful.
“I found myself tearing up with a big smile on my face,” Maloney told the ‘Prince’ during the postgame interview. “I was not sad that we hadn’t made the final. I know that will come in future years, but I was just overwhelmed with gratitude that I got to spend five years of my life in the most special program in the country.”
The Bruins went on to lose to the University of California, Berkeley Bears in the NCAA title match, 13–11, on Sunday afternoon. This marked the third straight championship for the Cal Golden Bears.
Following the conclusion of the tournament, Pozaric and Mitrovic were both named to the NCAA tournament All-Second team. Pozaric shined in the match against UCLA, scoring two goals and assisting twice as well. Mitrovic was dominant in both games, finishing the tournament with five goals and three assists.
The end of the historic season marked the end of Maloney and Quinones’ collegiate career. Quinones and Maloney are two of four Tiger captains — alongside senior attacker Alex Roose and junior utility Isaac Rotenberg. Quinones finishes his career with 153 goals and 144 assists, good for a top 15 all-time finish in goals and fourth all-time in assists. Maloney did it all for the Tigers, ending the season with 33 goals, 41 assists, 42 steals, and 34 drawn exclusions.
Maloney and Quinones embrace one another at the end of the game.
Picture Courtesy of Nicole M. Maloney
“I’m just really proud of the way that this program has transformed since my first-year, and I couldn’t be happier and wouldn’t have wanted to be on any other program,” Quinones added.
The Tigers will also graduate Roose, senior goalie Christian Hartch, senior utility Matej Sekulic, and senior attacker Chris Armstrong, losing an impressive senior class. But with a plethora of talent expected to come to Princeton next season — including Hungarian rising star Adam Peocz, a Spanish 1–2 side attacker, Mater Dei standout Nathan Banos, Newport Harbor High School defender Gavin Appeldorn, and reigning California Interscholastic Federation open division champion Tas Palcza — the Tigers will certainly be competitive next year.
Litvak ended the season with a promise: “We will be back here next year.”
Hayk Yengibaryan is an associate Sports editor at the ‘Prince.’
Please send corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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