Men's water polo pays back Navy in four-win weekend

In the animal kingdom, all animals are guided by a carnivorous territorial nature, attacking with haste those who spoil or dare enter their territory. But the truly aggressive animal — the one who survives in the end — always takes the initiative to attack on enemy turf when the time is right.

While the No. 17 men's water polo team had already avenged an early-season home loss to St. Francis with a 13-10 win Sept. 30, Princeton knew that the real demon they needed to exorcise was the 14-13 defeat against Navy suffered Sept. 24. With the Midshipmen occupying the same division as the Tigers and the playoffs around the corner, Princeton knew that this match — in Navy's home pool — was the time to strike.

Twenty-eight minutes later, after a game of ferocious intensity — every player clawing for loose balls and inside position — the Tigers (17-6, 7-1 Collegiate Water Polo Association) pulled out an impressive 6-5 win against Navy. Coupled with defeats of division rivals Bucknell, George Washington and Johns Hopkins, Princeton not only tied the Midshipmen for first in the Southern Division, but — due to an advantage in goal differential against common opponents — also clinched the No. 1 spot in the division for the second consecutive year.

Raising their game

"We played four really good games but we played especially well when we needed to against Navy," sophomore driver Robert Urquhart said. "It was definitely our most complete effort of the season."

Following the old adage, "the best offense is a good defense," Princeton deconstructed the Navy motion offense that had baffled it last time. Princeton focused on tightening its man-to-man defense — making sure there were no lapses in coverage as Navy constantly rotated its men — and tried to contain the Navy drivers to the ball side of the pool, cutting down their passing options.

The effectiveness of the strategy can be seen directly in the score. Led primarily by the stellar defensive efforts of junior two-meter Marshall Roslyn and senior two-meter Forrest Christo — who also added a goal to the team's cause — the Tigers held Navy to five goals, compared to 14 in their previous matchup. Moreover, four of the Midshipmen's five scores were on the man advantage.

"We just took better care of the ball this time around, playing better transition defense and preventing them from scoring quick goals on us," senior driver Chris Gratian said.

"For the first and second time this season, we played a game where everyone was playing good defense together as a team," said Urquhart, who scored two goals.

Buoyed by the team's solid defense and the complementary goaltending of junior Jon Pharris, the offense was not forced into a frenzy, but paced itself into making the right decisions and not letting up its defensive guard on transition. Despite a slow offensive output in the first half — one fast break goal, courtesy of senior driver Jimmy Orozco — the Tigers rallied in the third for three unanswered scores to take a 4-2 lead by the quarter's end. Then, after allowing Navy to tie it at 4-4, the defense held its ground, and the offense capitalized on its speed and endurance advantage, finding the net two more times en route to a one-goal victory — this time in Princeton's favor.

Undercard

In other matches, the Tigers disposed of their other rivals with consummate ease. Against Johns Hopkins and George Washington, Princeton performed as expected, winning 16-9 and 12-8, respectively. Against Bucknell, Princeton bolted out of the starting gate, amassing a quick 9-2 lead and going on to win, 9-5. Especially impressive in net — having recovered fully from a back injury — Pharris achieved a season-high 10 saves while the Tigers got offensive support from a newcomer — freshman two-meter D.J. Halliday — who scored twice.

"With those teams, it's only a matter of time before we blow it open," Gratian said. "We just have guys with faster speed and better skill, and when we're all working together, we're hard to beat."

With only one regular season match left — against Queens — Princeton is looking forward to the ECAC tournament Oct. 28-30. The Tigers, along with St. Francis, Navy and the other top teams in the East, will battle for an NCAA berth in what truly promises to be a survival of the fittest.