Brown University
Princeton
Brown Water Polo Splits at Princeton Invitational
9/13/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Water Polo
Princeton, NJ- The No. 19 Brown men's water polo team
defeated No. 20 Bucknell, 7-6, but fell to No. 4 UCLA 15-5 in the
second day of the Princeton Invitational. The Bears will now
prepare to take on No. 17 Princeton at 1:00 p.m.
Brown was hot from the start and capitalized on some early opportunies to jump out to an early 5-1 lead over the Bison after the first eight minutes. Bucknell's defense allowed Brown to just one goal the second quarter, as Brown headed into halftime with a 6-1 advantage.
Both squads posted one goal in the third, but the Bison rallied in the fourth to outscore Bruno 4-0 and cut its deficit to just 7-6. The hard-nosed Brown defenders kept Bucknell off the board for the remainder of the game, earning the 7-6 victory.
“We did some really good things early and I was pleased with
the way we responded to start the game,” said head coach
Felix Mercado. “I was a little disappointed that we
didn't keep attacking more in the fourth, but when you have a
young team, complacency sometimes can set in.”
Leading the Bears' attack was Zach Levko (Wildwood, MO) and
Corey Schwartz (Los Angeles,CA) with two goals apiece, and junior
Gordon Hood (Carlsbad, CA) and Svetozar Stefanovic (Belgrade,
Serbia) added one. Senior goalkeeper Kent Holland (Orinda, CA) led
the defense with five saves.
Against UCLA, the Bruins took an immediate 3-0 lead on the Bears after the first eight minutes of play. Both teams tallied two goals in the second quarter, as Brown headed into halftime with a 5-2 deficit. The Bruins pressure the Bears in the third quarter and used a 4-0 run in the third quarter to pull away and extended their lead to 10-3 heading into the final eight minutes. UCLA's offense put together five more gials in the fourth quarter, as its stingy defense allowed Brown to just two goals while earning a 15-5 victory.
Holland made several key stops in goal for Brown as he recorded seven saves in three quarter, and Max Lubin posted one save in his eight minutes of play. Brown's offense was led by Stefanovic's and Hood's two goals apiece, while Mojdehi added one. Stefanovic also added four ejections drawn and three steals.
“We came out strong offensively and we were a couple of key opportunities from making the game even more interesting,” said Mercado. “Holland kept us in the game for the most part, but they are way too talented to hold off for very long. I was very proud of the guys today.”
