Princeton Starts Homestand With 11-9 Victory Over No. 11 Harvard

Saturday, September 30

Princeton, N.J.

7:00 PM

Princeton University

#11 Harvard

Photo by: Beverly Schaefer

Princeton Starts Homestand With 11-9 Victory Over No. 11 Harvard

September 30, 2017 | Men's Water Polo

PRINCETON, N.J. – Sean Duncan and Matt Payne recorded hat tricks as the No. 11 Princeton Tigers held off a No. 11 Harvard Crimson fourth quarter rally with a 11-9 decision at DeNunzio Pool on Saturday evening.

The Highlights:
Harvard scored four consecutive goals to tie the game at 9-all with 1:30 left.
Matt Payne's tally with 53 seconds to go proved to be the game-winner.

No. 11 Princeton 11, No. 11 Harvard 9
The home team snagged the final two goals of the first quarter to take a 3-1 lead after eight minutes. Duncan had two of his three tallies in that frame. The Tigers extended their advantage with the last two tallies of the second stanza, taking a 5-2 lead into halftime.

Head coach Luis Nicolao's unit ran out with the first three goals of the second half, setting the score at 7-3. The Crimson's tally with 1:58 remaining made the Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC) matchup a three-goal affair (8-5) after three quarters.

This time, it was Harvard to go on a run, ripping off four straight goals, tying the game at 9-all as the clock read 1:30. Payne came through with the clutch goal with 53 seconds to go to put Princeton back in front.

The All-American with the clutch goal with 51 seconds to go! pic.twitter.com/zi4elExPaY
— Princeton Water Polo (@Pwaterpolo) October 1, 2017

Logan MacDonell added an insurance tally with 12 seconds left. Vojislav Mitrovic made 14 saves for Princeton in the victory.

The Tigers improve to 10-3 overall and 1-0 in the NWPC. Princeton continues conference action with a doubleheader tomorrow at DeNunzio. MIT gets the double dip started at 10 a.m., before a matchup with No. 14 Brown at 2:30 p.m. Both games will be streamed on the Ivy League Network.

Goals: Duncan 3, Payne 3, Swart 2, Wilson 1, MacDonell 1, Cole 1
Assists: Wilson 3, Colina 3, Swart 3, Payne 1, Mitrovic 1
Steals: Swart 3, Payne 2, Xi 1, Conrad 1, Colina 1
Drawn Ejections: Duncan 4, Xi 1, Conrad 1, Mendelsohn 1, Wilson 1, Colina 1, Swart 1, Payne 1
Blocks: Cole 1, Payne 1
Saves: Mitrovic 14