Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Men's Water Polo Hosts Bucknell on Saturday
October 08, 2010 | Men's Water Polo
Princeton went 3-0 in its first three league games two weekends ago and tops the division standings, while Bucknell dropped its first three league games and sits in fifth in the standings heading into the weekend.
The Tigers enter the weekend off a 1-3 trip to the SoCal Tournament last weekened that saw the team place 15th in ultra-competitive field. Princeton fell to three teams ranked above it in the national polls in then second-ranked UCLA, 10th-ranked Loyola Marymount and 12th-ranked St. Francis. Princeton completed the weekend with a win over Redlands, the second-ranked team in the Division III poll.
Mike Helou led all Tigers with six goals last week, converting on six of 10 shots from the field. He matched a season-high with four goals in the Redlands win and adding single goals against UCLA and St. Francis. He also had two steals and drew nine ejections. Kurt Buchbinder also played well over the weekend and scored five goals on his way to Southern Rookie of the Week honors. Four of his goals came in the St. Francis game and he added a score in the Redlands win.
Tommy Donahue continues to lead the team with 21 goals, although he missed all four games in California because of injury. Tim Wenzlau (19), Helou (18), Chris Cottrell (16) and Matt Hale (11) round out the team's top-five goal scorers. Hale currently leads the team with 21 assists and 28 steals. Wenzlau has 11 assists.
Saturday's game will be the second of the season between Princeton and Bucknell, but the first that will count towards the league standings. The teams met on Sept. 19 in the third-place game at the ECAC Championship, a game won by Princeton 9-6. The Tigers never trailed in the win after opening a two-goal lead after a quarter of play. Wenzlau, Donahue and Parolin all scored twice in the win while goalkeepers Mike Merlone and Ben Dearborn combined for 14 saves.
Princeton has won its last four games against Bucknell and is 31-9 all-time against the Bison. In addition to the ECAC win this September, Princeton edged the Bison in the second meeting of the 2009 regular season, and then in both the Southern and Eastern semifinals.
Bucknell is currently 7-7 overall and 0-3 in Southern Division. The Bison were idle last weekend and last played the weekend of Sept. 24-25. Bucknell played the same three league opponents that Princeton faced that weekend and fell in each game, losing by a goal at Johns Hopkins and Navy, and by three at George Washington.
The Tigers will continue their league slate next weekend with a home game against 19th-ranked Navy and a road game at Bucknell.