Sunday, November 23
Annapolis, Md.
1:30 p.m.
Princeton University
6
vs
9
#14 Navy
Players Mentioned
ATT
/ Men's Water Polo
G
/ Men's Water Polo
LATT
/ Men's Water Polo
ATT
/ Men's Water Polo
Men's Water Polo Falls to Navy 9-6 in Eastern Finals
November 23, 2008 | Men's Water Polo
ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Navy used a four-goal third quarter to rally from a halftime deficit and defeat the Princeton men's water polo team 9-6 in the championship game of the 2008 CWPA Eastern Championships on Sunday afternoon at Navy.
Princeton scored the game's first goal when junior Douglas Wigley scored his first of three goals on an ejection with 4:13 left in the first period. The 14th-ranked Midshipmen tied the game at 3:26 on an blast from the wing by Kevin Bell, but the Tigers bounced back with another tally by Wigley at 2:04 to put Princeton back in front 2-1, but Navy's Mike Mulvey scored with 41 seconds remaining in the first period to tie the game after a period.
Princeton scored the only goal of the second period when sophomore Jeff Cole netted a shot at the 5:02 mark to go in front 3-2. Princeton took that lead into the half as the Tigers looked for their first Eastern title since 2004.
Princeton extended the lead to 4-2 early in the third quarter on Wigley's third goal of the game. Bell and senior Brendan Colgan then traded goals and the Tigers held the two-goal lead with 5:30 left in the period. The lead lasted slightly more than 2:30 though as Johnny Meiners and Jordan Carter scored 35 seconds apart to draw Navy even, and then Mulvey put Navy in front to stay with 1:04 left in the period as he picked up a loose ball in front of the cage and banged a shot over the left shoulder of sophomore Mike Merlone.
The Midshipmen cushioned the lead and netted the game-winner 1:19 into the fourth period as Alex Kofsky received a pass and rifled a shot cross-cage over the left shoulder of Merlone and into the upper 90 of the goal for a 7-5 advantage.
Princeton came back as junior Eric Vreeland converted a penalty shot at 3:26, but Navy sealed the win with tallies by Kyle Wertz on a restart after a shot tipped out of bounds at 2:54 and a pass from Luke Baldwin to Marek Malik at the 2:22 mark for the 9-6 final.
Princeton was unable to overcome the three-goal deficit as the Midshipmen limited the Tigers to three shots on goal in the fourth period, including none in the final two minutes of play.
The Tigers placed four members on the Eastern All-Tournament team as Merlone, Colgan, Vreeland and Cole received first-team honors. Additionally, Princeton head coach Luis Nicolao was named the Dick Russell Coach of the Tournament.
The loss ends Princeton's season at 19-10 overall. Navy will go on to represent the CWPA at the 2008 NCAA championships in two weekends at Stanford.
Team 1 2 3 4 - Final
Princeton 2 1 2 1 - 6
Navy 2 0 4 3 - 9
Navy Goals: Mike Mulvey (2); Kevin Bell (2); Johnny Meiners; Marek Malik; Jordan Carter; Alex Kofsky; Kyle Wertz
Princeton Goals: Douglas Wigley (3); Brendan Colgan; Eric Vreeland; Jeff Cole
Saves: Navy - Brett Rajchel (10) ; Princeton - Mike Merlone (11)
Ejections: Navy - 12 ; Princeton - 5
2008 Eastern All-Tournament Team
First Team
Mike Merlone (Goalie) -Princeton University
Brendan Colgan - Princeton University
Eric Vreeland - Princeton University
Jeff Cole - Princeton University
Mike Mulvey - United States Naval Academy
Richie Hyden - Bucknell University
Mike Gartner - Brown University
Second Team
Nikola Djuric (Goalie) - St. Francis College
Nemanja Pucarevic - St. Francis College
Josh Kratz - Johns Hopkins University
Mike Smith-Bronstein - Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Patrick St. Cin - Iona College
Grant LeBeau - Brown University
Johnny Meiners - United States Naval Academy
Most Valuable Player - Mike Mulvey (United States Naval Academy)
Dick Russell Coach of the Tournament - Luis Nicolao (Princeton University)
Outstanding Rookie - Kyle Wertz (United States Naval Academy)
Princeton scored the game's first goal when junior Douglas Wigley scored his first of three goals on an ejection with 4:13 left in the first period. The 14th-ranked Midshipmen tied the game at 3:26 on an blast from the wing by Kevin Bell, but the Tigers bounced back with another tally by Wigley at 2:04 to put Princeton back in front 2-1, but Navy's Mike Mulvey scored with 41 seconds remaining in the first period to tie the game after a period.
Princeton scored the only goal of the second period when sophomore Jeff Cole netted a shot at the 5:02 mark to go in front 3-2. Princeton took that lead into the half as the Tigers looked for their first Eastern title since 2004.
Princeton extended the lead to 4-2 early in the third quarter on Wigley's third goal of the game. Bell and senior Brendan Colgan then traded goals and the Tigers held the two-goal lead with 5:30 left in the period. The lead lasted slightly more than 2:30 though as Johnny Meiners and Jordan Carter scored 35 seconds apart to draw Navy even, and then Mulvey put Navy in front to stay with 1:04 left in the period as he picked up a loose ball in front of the cage and banged a shot over the left shoulder of sophomore Mike Merlone.
The Midshipmen cushioned the lead and netted the game-winner 1:19 into the fourth period as Alex Kofsky received a pass and rifled a shot cross-cage over the left shoulder of Merlone and into the upper 90 of the goal for a 7-5 advantage.
Princeton came back as junior Eric Vreeland converted a penalty shot at 3:26, but Navy sealed the win with tallies by Kyle Wertz on a restart after a shot tipped out of bounds at 2:54 and a pass from Luke Baldwin to Marek Malik at the 2:22 mark for the 9-6 final.
Princeton was unable to overcome the three-goal deficit as the Midshipmen limited the Tigers to three shots on goal in the fourth period, including none in the final two minutes of play.
The Tigers placed four members on the Eastern All-Tournament team as Merlone, Colgan, Vreeland and Cole received first-team honors. Additionally, Princeton head coach Luis Nicolao was named the Dick Russell Coach of the Tournament.
The loss ends Princeton's season at 19-10 overall. Navy will go on to represent the CWPA at the 2008 NCAA championships in two weekends at Stanford.
Team 1 2 3 4 - Final
Princeton 2 1 2 1 - 6
Navy 2 0 4 3 - 9
Navy Goals: Mike Mulvey (2); Kevin Bell (2); Johnny Meiners; Marek Malik; Jordan Carter; Alex Kofsky; Kyle Wertz
Princeton Goals: Douglas Wigley (3); Brendan Colgan; Eric Vreeland; Jeff Cole
Saves: Navy - Brett Rajchel (10) ; Princeton - Mike Merlone (11)
Ejections: Navy - 12 ; Princeton - 5
2008 Eastern All-Tournament Team
First Team
Mike Merlone (Goalie) -Princeton University
Brendan Colgan - Princeton University
Eric Vreeland - Princeton University
Jeff Cole - Princeton University
Mike Mulvey - United States Naval Academy
Richie Hyden - Bucknell University
Mike Gartner - Brown University
Second Team
Nikola Djuric (Goalie) - St. Francis College
Nemanja Pucarevic - St. Francis College
Josh Kratz - Johns Hopkins University
Mike Smith-Bronstein - Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Patrick St. Cin - Iona College
Grant LeBeau - Brown University
Johnny Meiners - United States Naval Academy
Most Valuable Player - Mike Mulvey (United States Naval Academy)
Dick Russell Coach of the Tournament - Luis Nicolao (Princeton University)
Outstanding Rookie - Kyle Wertz (United States Naval Academy)
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