This past weekend, No. 9 men’s water polo (10–2 overall, 0–0 Northeast Water Polo Conference) flew coast to coast to Los Angeles to take part in the annual MPSF Overnght Invitational. They won two ranked face-offs and lost two, acquiring their first losses of the season.
“Especially as a new team that lost several key players, [tournaments like these] are more about learning who we are and finding areas of improvement,” Head Coach Dustin Litvak told The Daily Princetonian.
“We can only expose our weaknesses by challenging ourselves against tough opponents.”
The Orange and Black traveled over 2,500 more miles than their four opponents combined.
Princeton drops nailbiter in double overtime against No. 14 UC San Diego
The undefeated Tigers began their tournament against a fellow ranked foe in No. 14 UC San Diego (11–5 overall, 0–0 Big West). After 32 minutes, it was the Tritons who found the answers down the stretch and narrowly squeaked by the Tigers in a thrilling matchup.
The contest was even from start to finish, with UC San Diego taking a slim 7–6 lead into the locker room at halftime after the teams traded goals to start.
The second half saw more of the same, where the Tigers evened the score at 11–11 by the time it expired. For the Orange and Black, junior goalie Kristóf Kovács came up huge, notching 14 saves throughout the game and keeping Princeton in it.
The Tritons scored to open overtime and took a 12–11 lead. But, with just over 90 seconds to go, senior utility Logan McCarroll scored his third goal of the contest to tie the game at 12.
UCSD dominated the second overtime, and the Tigers fell one goal short to lose the tournament opener 14–13.
Tigers roar in comfortable 16–7 win against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps
Looking for a bounce-back victory in their second game, Princeton faced off against unranked Claremont–Mudd–Scripps Stags (5–4, 0–0 SCIAC). The Tigers were in control from the first whistle until the final buzzer, pouncing on the Stags and capping off the first frame with an impressive goal from sophomore attacker Ádám Peocz to take a 5–1 lead.
The Tiger prowess didn’t stop there, as Princeton went on to score three goals in a row, including a rocket from senior utility Logan McCarroll.
“The nice part about the CMS game is that we started strong, which we did not in our other three matches over the weekend,” Litvak said to the ‘Prince.’
The Tigers never looked back, taking advantage of their lower-ranked opponents to earn a 16–7 win.
Appeldorn wins it at the buzzer as Princeton edges past No. 8 UC Irvine
Saturday’s nightcap in Los Angeles turned out to be the most exciting finish of the invitational. After a dominant victory over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps just hours earlier, Princeton faced off against No. 8 UC Irvine (7–5, 0–0 Big West) in a tightly contested matchup.
The Anteaters jumped on the Tigers with an early 2–0 lead, but freshman attacker Taylor Bell quickly answered and stopped the bleeding for Princeton. The first quarter was high-scoring, and although UC Irvine held a slim lead, the matchup was dead even at 6–6 after eight minutes of play.
The back-and-forth nature of the game continued throughout the second quarter and into the second half, but UC Irvine had a strong spell that put them in front 13–9.
However, as they have all season long, Princeton found an answer. Stothart and Peocz rallied the troops with quick goals and consequently produced an Orange and Black wave of momentum to propel the Tigers back into the contest.
Although UC Irvine still maintained a lead with a few minutes to go, they were hanging on by a thread. With five minutes left, Bell tied the game up at 15–15.
But the Tigers weren’t done yet. In the final seconds, Kovács launched a pass to Appeldorn, who lobbed the goalie and put the Tigers in front 16–15 as time expired, earning Princeton their 10th overall win and fourth ranked win of the season.
“It was amazing in the moment, and my body just completely forgot how exhausted it was until after the game,” said Appeldorn. “I literally just collapsed on the floor from exhaustion.”
Princeton drops final game against Pepperdine
After an emotional, exhausting Saturday, Princeton geared up for their final game of the invitational on Sunday afternoon against No. 12 Pepperdine (8–4, 0–0 West Coast Conference).
Stothart gave the Tigers an early lead, but Pepperdine scored the next four goals and never looked back.
Princeton was strong offensively; however, it seemed as though every time the Tigers tried to cut into their deficit, Pepperdine had an answer. With a critical goal in the dying seconds of the first half, Bell cut the Wave lead to just two at 9–7.
The Tigers used this momentum to successfully threaten the Pepperdine lead in the third quarter. While the Wave also managed to find the net a couple of times, junior utilityman Finn LeSieur led a spirited comeback for Princeton, tying the contest at 13–13 with six minutes to go.
After Pepperdine once again answered the call to take a 16–14 lead, LeSieur produced even more magic with his sixth goal of the game to bring Princeton to within one at the two-minute mark. However, it wasn’t enough for the Orange and Black, as they fell 17–15 and dropped their second game of the season to cap off the Overnight Invitational.
There is much to look forward to for the Tigers. After traveling across the country, the Tigers managed to snag two wins in a tournament flush with talent. The Tigers now head back home to the Northeast with a tripleheader on Saturday, Sept. 27 in New York City.
“We have the chance [to improve] against a top four team next weekend playing Fordham,” Appeldorn told the ‘Prince.’ “While it’s going to take us all buying in 100 percent, there is no doubt in my mind that this team can compete for the NCAA title.”
Lucas Nor is a Sports staff writer for the ‘Prince.’
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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