Princeton University
#4 Stanford (Quarterfinals)
No. 5 Men’s Water Polo Set For NCAA Quarterfinals
December 05, 2024 | Men's Water Polo
PRINCETON, N.J.- The Princeton men's water polo team is heading back to California for the third time this season with its eyes set on the big prize- an NCAA title. This will be the fourth straight NCAA tournament appearance for the Tigers and tenth in program history.
After claiming victory for the fourth consecutive season at the Northeast Water Polo Conference Championship and working to a 23-8 record, Princeton was slotted as the No. 5 seed in the tournament and will take on the No. 4 seed Stanford Cardinal in the NCAA Quarterfinals.
The game will take place on Friday, Dec. 10 at 5:00 PM ET/2:00 PM PT and the game will be available on NCAA.com
Goals
After previously setting a new program record for goals scored in a season in 2023-24, this year's squad topped that by surpassing 500 goals for the first time in program history. Roko Pozaric leads the pack with 73 on the year. The Tigers have 12 players on the roster with 20 or more goals: Pozaric (73), Gavin Appeldorn (52), Vladan Mitrovic (46), Finn LeSieur (39), Tas Palcza (38), Logan McCarroll (35), George Caras (30), Adam Peocz (25), Enrique Nuño (22) and Nathan Banos (22), Gavin Molloy (21) and Luke Johnston (20).
Only One Kristóf
As the only true goalie listed on the Princeton roster, Kristóf Kovács has been putting in the work this season. The Hungarian keeper has played 956 minutes on his way to a .521 save percentage. Kovács has recorded 316 saves thus far, good for a new program single season record, and added 32 steals and 27 assists.
NWPC Four-Peat Complete
The Tigers earned the top spot in the Northeast Water Polo Conference tournament thanks to a 9-1 conference record and the goal differential tiebreaker over the Harvard Crimson. Princeton faced the Iona Gaels in the semifinals and picked up a 22-11 win. Logan McCarroll and Vladan Mitrovic each scored a hat trick in the win.
The finals pitted the Tigers against the Brown Bears in the NWPC final. Princeton had previously beaten Brown twice in the regular season and looked to do so for a third time to punch its ticket to the NCAA tournament. The team did just that and in dominant fashion. Princeton came out on top 17-6.
Kovács made made 20 saves in the cage for a season high as Pozaric tallied four goals and three each from Appeldorn and Mitrovic.
All-Tournament Tigers
Kovács had some of his strongest performances of the season across the weekend at the NWPC tournament. He notched 34 saves and allowed just 17 goals, holding Brown to just six in the final. He added four assists in his tournament Most Valuable Player campaign.
Appeldorn was named the Rookie of the Tournament after scoring five goals, drawing four exclusions, and adding an assist and a block.
Princeton had six Tigers named to the All-Tournament teams. Kovács, Pozaric and Mitrovic were named to the First Team. Appeldorn and JP Ohl made the All-Tournament Second Team and Molloy was All-Tournament Honorable Mention.
Cutino Award Watch List
Pozaric is Princeton's all-time leading goal scorer with 279. He leads the Tigers this season with 73 and is second on the team in assists with 42. The senior utility also owns a 87-17 sprint record this season.
Kovács earned over half of the NWPC Defensive Player of the Week honors this season and has made 282 saves in the cage. The keeper owns a .502 save percentage and has recorded 23 assists and 32 steals, the second most both on the team and by a keeper since 2017. Kovács has held opponents to single-digit scoring in 12 games this season.
Pozaric and Kovács were both named to the Cutino Award Watch List earlier this season.
1-2 Punch
Gavin Appeldorn and Tas Palcza have been key members of the Princeton offense in their first collegiate seasons. Appeldorn and Palcza have each been named the NWPC Rookie of the Week twice.
Appeldorn, out of Newport Harbor High School, has tallied 52 goals, 31 steals and leads the team in drawn exclusions with 59. Palcza, a JSerra alum, has recorded 38 goals and is tied for third on the team in blocks with seven.
Block Party
The field block has been a crucial component of the Tiger defense. The team has combined for 95 blocks this season with Vladan Mitrovic (19) leading in the category.
Weekly Winners
The Tigers have received a total of 18 NWPC weekly awards: five Players of the Week, seven Defensive Players of the Week, and six Rookies of the Week.
The Regular Season
Princeton defeated 10 ranked opponents this season. The Tigers defeated Cal for the first time in program history to avenge an earlier loss at the MPSF Overnght Invitational. The team also held a 9-1 conference record.
Scouting Stanford
Princeton and Stanford have not met yet this season, but both teams competed at the MPSF Overnght Invitational in September. The last time the Tigers beat the Cardinal came 2022 with an 11-10 final with Pozaric scoring the game winner with 13 seconds left in the game.
