Men’s water polo rebounds after opening loss, finishing 3–1 at MPSF Invitational

This weekend at Stanford, No. 10 men’s water polo (11–1 overall, 0–0 Northeast Water Polo Conference) battled it out at the MPSF Invitational. After falling short in the opener to San Jose State (5–6, 0–0 West Coast Conference), the Tigers made a comeback with three straight wins over Cal Baptist (11–3, 0–0 The Big West), UC Santa Barbara (12–8, 0–0 The Big West), and Loyola Marymount (6–4, 0–0 West Coast Conference).

Tigers fall short to late surge by the Spartans

Right as the whistle blew, junior attacker Enrique Nuño found the back of the net off a feed from first-year utility Oliver Marcin, quickly putting the Tigers up 1–0. With this initial momentum, sophomore utility Otto Stothart and junior utility Gavin Appeldorn followed suit to make the score 3–1.

However, the Spartans were quick to respond as they sank two straight goals of their own to tie the game at three apiece.

But in a back-and-forth manner, Tigers’ junior attacker Ádám Peocz restored the lead on the power play.

Just moments later, senior goalkeeper Kristóf Kovács turned aside a five-meter penalty shot from utility Samu Biros, and another goal from Stothart ended the quarter at a 5–4 Tiger lead.

Unlike the first, the second quarter slowed to a grind. Spartans’ goalkeeper Alexey Poletaev stopped sophomore attacker Taylor Bell’s penalty shot, and two Spartan shots rang off the post before defender Mateja Cetkovic tied the game at 5–5.

Peocz and Nuño then answered with a goal each, giving the Tigers a two-point lead by halftime.

In the third, Stothart and Nuño extended the lead by three to 9–6, but the Spartans refused to back down. Their utility Sam Keightley scored twice in a minute, but despite the Orange and Black responding with a Marcin goal, the Spartans tied the game at 10–10.

With under a minute left, Nuño converted on the power play and put Princeton up 11–10 going into the fourth.

But the Tigers’ offense suddenly ran dry, going more than seven minutes without a goal scored. Capitalizing on Princeton’s troubles, the Spartans took the lead to 13–11.

Hoping for a miracle, Nuño finally answered with around 30 seconds to spare, but a buzzer-beater goal by Spartans’ Keightley sealed the deal, handing Princeton the opening loss.

Bouncing back against Cal Baptist and a double overtime standoff against UCSB

Despite losing their laudable win streak, the Tigers sought another as they faced off against the Cal Baptist Lancers on Saturday morning. Peocz led the way with five goals and three assists, while senior utility Finn LeSieur and Bell each added three. Finally, Kovács made 10 saves out of the 18 shots he faced, giving the Tigers a comfortable 12–8 victory.

Mirroring their first matchup, the Tigers started off strong as Stothart scored twice in the opening minutes against the UCSB Gauchos.

But unwilling to fall behind, the Gauchos struck back with four straight, putting Princeton at a two-point deficit. Marcin and Peocz pulled the Tigers back level to four apiece as the whistle blew.

Early into the second, Peocz tied the game once more at 5–5 with a power play goal, but the Gauchos continued to outscore Princeton 4–1, extending the Tiger deficit to three by halftime.

Out of the break, Princeton locked back in for another attempt to cut the score gap. With Appeldorn scoring on the power play, junior attacker Tas Palcza converting a penalty shot, and junior utility Teddy Rountree-Shtulman scoring on a 6-on-5, the Tigers tied the game up 9–9. 

And although Gauchos’ attacker Luigi Canepa extended the lead once more by one, the Tigers were in a far better position by the end of the third.

After several goal exchanges, the Tigers ultimately tied the game to 12–12 and held it firm despite the back-to-back exclusions on Appeldorn and LeSieur.

Gauchos’ attacker Oliver Sherwood put them back up one, but in another dramatic finish, Nuño drilled the ball into the net, forcing an overtime.

With energy at all-time highs, Rountree-Shtulman converted on the power play, giving the Tigers a much-needed 14–13 lead in the first. In the second overtime, Princeton maintained a suffocating defense, and a Stothart goal ended the match at 15–14 for a Tiger victory.

Invitational closer against Loyola Marymount

Princeton closed out the Invitational with a 10–9 victory over Loyola in the ninth-place game.

Seven different Tigers scored, with Stothart, Bell, and Nuño each finding the back of the net twice, along with Kovács recording 12 saves.

The MPSF Invitational showcased the Princeton squad’s resilience and the depth of their bench against notoriously difficult West Coast opponents. Finishing off the tournament with an impressive 3–1 record, the Tigers prepare for Northeast Water Polo Conference play back home this Saturday against Harvard and MIT. 

Andrew Kang is a Sports contributor for the ‘Prince.’

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