Princeton University
UC-Irvine
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No. 12 Men's Water Polo Splits Pair of Games With No. 8 UC-Irvine, Redlands
September 19, 2015 | Men's Water Polo
NORCAL INVITATIONAL TOURNAMENT CENTRAL
STANFORD, Calif. – The 12th-ranked Princeton University men's water polo team opened play at Stanford University's Kap 7 NorCal Invitational by splitting a pair of games against No. 8 UC-Irvine and Redlands.
Suffering a 14-6 setback to UC-Irvine in their NorCal opener, the Tigers rebounded in the afternoon session, securing a 14-6 decision of their own against Redlands. Princeton will return to action at 3:15 p.m. (EST) on Sunday, Sept. 20 against UC-San Diego.
UC-IRVINE 14, PRINCETON 6
Ranked 12th in the latest CWPA varsity top-20 poll, Princeton opened play at the Kap 7 NorCal Invitational with a 14-6 loss to No. 8 UC-Irvine. Battling the Anteaters to a 3-3 tie through the first eight minutes, the Tigers were outscored 3-1 in the second period. Netting four of the six goals in the third quarter, UCI accounted for all four scores in the final frame to secure the victory.
Thomas Nelson, Curtis Fink and Jordan Colina each scored in the first quarter, while Ryan Wilson had the Tigers' lone tally in the second. Nelson and Jamie Kuprenas scored Princeton's two goals in the third period.
Kuprenas also dished out three assists, while Bret Hinrichs nabbed a team-high four steals. Going 2-0 on sprints, Jordan Colina drew a pair of ejections, while Fink recorded the Tigers' lone block.
Making six saves in the first quarter, Vojislav Mitrovic added two more in the second period. Turning away a pair of stops in the third, Mitrovic tacked on one more in the fourth to finish with 11 saves. Taking over in net with 3:29 remaining in the fourth, Ryan Melosini made a pair of stops.
Goals: Nelson 2, Kuprenas 1, Fink 1, Colina 1, Wilson 1
Assists: Kuprenas 3, Wilson 1, Swart 1, Jeremic 1
Steals: Hinrichs 4, Colina 2, Nelson 1, Kuprenas 1, Bowen 1
Ejections Drawn: Colina 2, Nelson 1, Fink 1, Wilson 1
Blocks: Fink
Sprints: Colina 2-0, Wilson 1-1
Saves: Mitrovic 11, Melosini 2
PRINCETON 14, REDLANDS 6
Trailing 1-0 in the early going, it was Bradley Wachtell that first put Princeton on the board at the 4:55 mark of the first. With under two minutes to play in the period, Bret Hinrichs and Ryan Wilson netted scores 29 seconds apart to stretch the margin to 3-1.
Carrying the team's momentum into the second quarter, Michael Swart made it 4-1 at 6:23 before Eric Bowen notched the Tigers' fifth unanswered goal at 5:29. With Redlands battling back to within two following consecutive goals, Curtis Fink capped off the first half scoring with a tally at 3:49.
Kicking off a big Princeton run in the third, Thomas Nelson put in his first of the game just 17 seconds after the restart. Wilson added to the tally at 6:21 before Jordan Colina put in another goal less than a minute later. Just 43 seconds after Colina's score, Jamie Kuprenas found the back of the net to make it 10-3 as Princeton ultimately finished the third period with a 6-2 scoring edge.
Once again jump-starting the offense in the final frame, Swart recorded the Tigers' 13th goal at 5:03. Bowen put away Princeton's final score with just 3:33 remaining in regulation.