Princeton University
#2 UCLA
No. 10/11 Men’s Water Polo Splits Day In Los Angeles
October 13, 2024 | Men's Water Polo
LOS ANGELES, Calif.- The No. 10/11 Princeton men's water polo team started their week-long slate of California games with matchups against the No. 2 UCLA Bruins and the Westcliff Warriors.
Princeton 8, UCLA 10
The Bruins got on the board first after drawing two exclusions from the Tigers. Finn LeSieur cut into the lead with a goal but UCLA added one more at the end of the quarter.
Princeton struggled to fully keep up with UCLA's pace as the Bruins took a 8-5 lead after the first half.
Kristóf Kovács kept the Bruins at bay with huge stops on promising attacks in the third quarter. This helped shift the momentum in Princeton's favor. Mason Killion scored his first goal of the season with time winding down in the third and Roko Pozaric found the back of the cage to cut the lead to two.
The fourth quarter was a defensive battle. Both teams were held scoreless for the final eight minutes of play as UCLA claimed victory.
Goals: Pozaric (2), Gavin Appeldorn, Killion, Finn LeSieur, Logan McCarroll, Enrique Nuño Ádám Peocz
Saves: Kovács (13)
Princeton 19, Westcliff 10
The Princeton offense struck early and often. Roko Pozaric recorded a first quarter hat trick for three of the first four goals of the game.
The Tigers went on a dominant 7-0 run before Westcliff got on the board. Princeton had seven different goal scorers in the first eight minutes of play.
Westcliff tried to create a spark but Kovács kept the Warriors from getting much going. The Princeton keeper made eight saves and held the opponent to just three goals in the first half.
Six more goals were added in the second half to give Princeton the victory. Thanks to two goals in the fourth quarter, Nathan Banos recorded his first career hat trick with the Tigers.
Goals: Banos (3), Pozaric (3), Gavin Appeldorn (2) , Killion (2), McCarroll (2), Nuño (2), JP Ohl, Vladan Mitrovic, Tas Palcza, Tigran Sennett, William Swart
Saves: Kovács (9), Garlinghouse (1)
