Princeton University
#13 Santa Clara
Players Mentioned
Men's Water Polo Knocks Off #13 Santa Clara in Front of ESPNU Audience
September 11, 2010 | Men's Water Polo
LINKS: Princeton Invitational Schedule and Results
PRINCETON (9/10/10) - For the Princeton men's water polo team, six hours made a big difference as the 18th-ranked Tigers bounced back from a loss to 17th-ranked Cal Baptist in the afternoon to upend 13th-ranked Santa Clara 11-9 on Friday night in front of a nationally televised audience on ESPNU.
"In general we played well this afternoon against Cal Baptist," said Princeton head coach Luis Nicolao. "But we didn't do the little things we needed to at the right times and as a result the score wasn't close. Tonight we were able to work on some of those things and were able to pick up a big win."
The night didn't start out exactly as Nicolao and his team would have scripted as the Tigers fell behind 2-0 less than 90 seconds into the game. Sophomore Tommy Donahue put Princeton on the board a minute later and the Tigers drew even at two midway through the quarter on a goal from Connor Still. Donahue would finish the game with three goals and three assists.
From that point the teams traded goals throughout with neither team gaining a two-goal lead except for a 5-3 Princeton lead in the second quarter and when Princeton pulled ahead for good late in the third quarter. Sophomore Tim Wenzlau scored his second of five goals to give the Tigers that 5-3 lead at 4:35 of the second quarter but Santa Clara responded with three-straight goals to lead 6-5 in the final minute of the half. Princeton had possession as the clock wound down but had a shot attempt saved. Donahue though was able to snare the rebound and slide it into the goal with a second left in the half to send the game to the intermission knotted at six.
Wenzlau scored again to start the third quarter and Princeton would never trail again in the game, taking one-goal leads of 7-6, 8-7 and 9-8 before junior Mike Helou's goal with 1:31 left in the third gave the Tigers a two-goal margin. In the final quarter Wenzlau added his fifth goal to give Princeton an 11-8 lead before Santa Clara added the game's final goal.
"We made some good adjustments in between games," added Nicolao. "Unfortunately it takes being in the water in game action to figure out how some things are going to work. We weren't at our best this afternoon but the guys really stepped it up for tonight's game."
Princeton converted on four of eight exclusion chances and added a score on a two-meter shot from Still. Santa Clara scored on three of nine man-up chances. Senior co-captain Mike Merlone made 10 saves in the win for the Tigers.
| Princeton | 2 4 4 1 - 11 |
| Santa Clara | 3 3 2 1 - 8 |
Princeton Goals: Wenzlau 5, Donahue 3, Cottrell 1, Helou 1, Still 1.
Princeton Assists: Donahue 3, Hale 2, Parolin 2, Cottrell 1.
Princeton Saves: Merlone 10.
Santa Clara Goals: Akerland 2, Case 2, Kilpa 2, Carlson 1, Hobbs 1, Luebke 1.