Princeton University
Bucknell
Players Mentioned
No. 11 Princeton Opens CWPA Championship Play With Win Over Bucknell
November 20, 2015 | Men's Water Polo
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The 11th-ranked Princeton University men's water polo team opened up Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Championship play with an 11-7 victory over Bucknell.
Upending the Bison for the third time this season, the Tigers improved to 20-4 on the year. Princeton returns to action on Saturday, Nov. 21 against the winner of Harvard and Navy. Game time is set for 6 p.m. Saturday's semifinal winner will advance to the championship match on Sunday, Nov. 22 at 4 p.m.
With the game knotted at 3-3 early in the second quarter, Ryan Wilson and Jovan Jeremic netted back-to-back goals in a span of 2:12. Tied at 5-5 midway through the second period, Matt Payne and Wilson each found the back of the net to give the Tigers a two-goal lead at the intermission.
Thomas Nelson opened the third quarter scoring with a goal at 7:21 before Payne netted his second of the day to make it 9-5. After Bucknell closed the gap to 10-6 in the fourth, Jordan Colina scored at 5:24 to push the Princeton lead back up to four.
Wilson led the Tigers with three goals, two assists, and two steals, while Payne had three goals, a steal, and an ejection drawn. Colina and Nelson each chipped in two goals, with Nelson also nabbing a team-high three steals.
Playing all 32 minutes in net, Vojislav Mitrovic finished with 14 saves. Turning away three saves in the first quarter, Mitrovic stopped six shots in the second. Tacking on five saves in the second half, Mitrovic upped his season total to 259, surpassing his mark of 253 as a rookie. Mitrovic's save total in 2015 currently ranks second on the program's charts and is seven shy of tying Gregory Stoll's record of 266 saves in 1997.
Goals: Wilson 3, Payne 3, Colina 2, Nelson 2, Jeremic 1
Assists: Kuprenas 2, Colina 2, Wilson 2, Jeremic 1
Steals: Nelson 3, Wilson 2, Swart 2, Kuprenas 1, Fink 1, Payne 1
Ejections Drawn: Nelson 3, Kuprenas 2, Wilson 2, Fink 1, Payne 1
Blocks: Kuprenas 1, Wachtell 1, Wilson 1
Sprints: Colina 1-0, Wilson 1-1, Swart 0-1
Saves: Mitrovic 14