No. 13 Princeton (12–3 overall, 2–0 NWPC) won two out of three in a tripleheader over the weekend. Despite dropping their first game of the weekend to No. 5 Fordham (10–1, 4–0 MAWPC), the Tigers went on to win their first two NWPC games of the year against Iona (2–8, 0–1) and LIU (2–10, 0–1).
Tigers fall short against Rams in non-conference game, 16–19.
The Tigers had a rocky start on Saturday morning prior to their two conference games, losing to Fordham by three points. This was a similar outcome to when the Tigers confronted the Rams last year, in which the Tigers lost 9–12.
“We played much better than we did last year in a lot of ways. Our energy from the start was great. When we were organized, we created many opportunities for our centers to score or draw exclusions and, defensively, force the shot from where we wanted it to come from,” Head Coach Dustin Litvak told The Daily Princetonian.
In the first quarter, Princeton took an early lead 5–3 with senior utility JP Ohl scoring the first goal of the game within 28 seconds into the match. Then, at the end of the first quarter, sophomore Tas Palcza scored a penalty shot followed by junior goalkeeper Kristóf Kovács’ last-second goal — the first of his career — which sealed the Tigers’ lead. The Rams had pulled their goalie as the shot clock was turned off at the end of the quarter, and Kovács, after making the a save, launched the ball across the length of the pool for the score.
The Tigers carried their momentum into the second quarter by leaving the score 9–8. Although Princeton managed to maintain its pace, the Fordham Rams started to catch up. The Rams turned the scoreboard in their favor in the third quarter with a score of 14–13. Despite the shift in the momentum, the Tigers held firm against Fordham with effective transitions and strong positional play.
However, in the fourth quarter, despite the Tigers’ efforts to close the gap with late attacks and rapid rotations, the Fordham Rams were able to maintain their defense until the final stretch and closed out with a win, 19–16.
Despite this loss, Kovács, who was recently named to the Cutino Awards Watchlist for a second season straight, maintained a strong and steady defense throughout the entire match with eleven saves. Kovács told the ‘Prince’ that this personal achievement is a reflection of Princeton’s program and hard work over time.
“While it does not replace the feeling of winning together as a team, it is definitely motivating and gives me confidence in high-stakes moments. At the end of the day, the recognition is nice, but my focus is on helping the team succeed,” Kovács said.
Princeton starts off conference play hot, beating Iona 20–13
In their first NWPC matchup of the season, Princeton scored 20 points against a relatively weak 2–10 Iona squad.
The Tigers came out of the gates guns blazing. Early goals from Ohl, sophomore attacker Enrique Nuño, and junior utility Finn LeSieur gave Princeton a 3–0 lead with just over five minutes to play in the first quarter. While the Gaels tried to respond, two more goals from the Tigers put Princeton ahead 5–1 after the first 10 minutes.
Without former star and all-time goal leader Roko Pozaric ’25, it was clear that the Tigers would have to spread the wealth on offense. After their first quarter of NWPC play, that strategy proved its merit, with five goals scored by five different players.
The second quarter was more of the same. The Tigers scored six more goals from a wide array of players, continuing to get everyone involved on offense. The defense, which held Iona to just one goal in the first, gave up a little ground, conceding five goals in the quarter. Nevertheless, Princeton entered the locker room ahead 11–6.
In the second half, the Tigers continued their route, scoring at a steady pace throughout the last two quarters. While Iona was able to get past Kovács and the defense in the second half, it was never enough for the game to truly feel at risk.
For Princeton, the 20-goal effort was their second of the season, with the first coming against Salem during out-of-conference play earlier this fall.
Despite the five goal quarter, Kovács recorded a season-high 16 saves. Among the 12 Tigers that found success shooting at the cage, Nuño led the team with four goals while freshman utility Otto Stothart was close behind with three.
Men’s water polo takes down LIU 18–10 to conclude the tripleheader
After splitting the first two games of Saturday’s three-game slate, men’s water polo played the Long Island University Sharks to round out the day. A dominant first three quarters allowed the Tigers to take control of the game and secure an 18–10 victory.
First-year goalkeeper Pierre du Plessis made his first career start, holding LIU to just three goals in the first half. In addition, Ohl recorded eight assists to tie a single-game program record and bring him closer to becoming the all-time program assist leader.
After LIU won the swim-off, LIU utility Francisco de Zengotita Rodriguez put the Sharks up 1–0 to start. Senior utility Logan McCarroll quickly responded with a goal to tie the game at 1–1.
A goal from LIU driver Jack French put LIU back in front to make the score 2–1 LIU.
LIU’s lead was short-lived as the Tigers then scored six unanswered goals. After trading a couple more, the Tigers posted a 9–3 lead going into the half.
The Tigers resumed dominance as du Plessis shut out the Sharks in the third quarter while the Orange and Black tacked on five more goals, bringing the score to 14–3 in favor of the Tigers heading into the fourth.
A final push by LIU was too little, too late. While the Orange and Black scored three straight goals to open the fourth, LIU found a rhythm and scored five in a row. As time expired, the Tigers found themselves victorious at the end of their demanding tripleheader.
“Three games are taxing on the body, but we trusted the training we put in and our coaches to have prepared us adequately,” Ohl told the ‘Prince.’
Men’s water polo will return home to play at DeNunzio Pool against the MIT Engineers (4–8 overall, 0–0 NWPC) at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 4.
Doug Schwartz is an associate Sports editor for the ‘Prince.’
Brizel Martinez Cruz is a Sports contributor for the ‘Prince.’
Jordan Halagao is a Sports contributor for the ‘Prince.’
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