Princeton University Athletics
Men's Water Polo Wins Nail-Biter 11-10 in Overtime
September 10, 2005 | Men's Water Polo
Sept. 10, 2005
Princeton, N.J. - Senior John Stover scored with 2:42 remaining in the third overtime session to lift the 10th-ranked Princeton men's water polo team to a 11-10 win over No. 15 St. Francis Saturday morning at DeNunzio Pool. Six Tigers scored goals in the game as Princeton rallied from a 9-6 deficit in the fourth quarter to force overtime and eventually win.
Princeton is now 2-0 on the season and will meet Fordham later tonight at the Princeton Invitational continues.
St. Francis jumped out to a 2-1 lead at the end of the first quarter and then led 5-3 at the half. Princeton brought it to 5-5 in the third quarter but the Terriers pulled away again making the score 8-5 by the end of the seven-minute quarter. The teams traded goals in the early part of the fourth frame before Princeton made a run to tie it. Senior Chris Kelsch started it with his goal at 5:32. A minute later, freshman Eric Vreeland made the score 9-8 and with 31 seconds remaining Vreeland's second goal of the game made it 9-9.
In the first overtime period, Zach Beckmann gave Princeton a 10-9 lead at 1:29 but St. Francis drew even with 42 seconds left on Botond Szalma's fifth goal of the game. The teams played a scoreless second overtime session, which pushed the game to sudden-death overtime, where Stover scored to lift Princeton to the win.
Sophomore Scott Syverson played the entire game in goal for the Tigers, making six saves, including two over the course of overtime. In addition to his two goals, Vreeland also added three assists to lead Princeton on the day. Junior Nicholas Seaver, freshman Brendan Colgan, Beckmann and Stover all scored twice in the game in addition to Vreeland.
St. Francis 2 3 3 1 - 1 0 - 0 - 10 Princeton 1 2 2 4 - 1 0 - 1 - 11
St. Francis Goals: Mudreac 1, Szalma 5, Pucarevac 2, Fabian 1, Vasilchikov 1 Princeton Goals: Kelsch 1, Seaver 2, Colgan 2, Vreeland 2, Stover 2, Beckmann 2 Princeton Saves: Syverson 6
Other scores from Saturday morning's session of the Princeton Invitational:
Fordham 10, Mercyhurst 6
George Washington 13, Gannon 5
UC San Diego 21, Queens 5