CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The Division III No. 7-ranked Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) water polo team outscored Long Island University by an 11-5 count in the second and third quarters to take an 18-10 win over the Sharks in the Zesiger Center Pool. The Engineers dropped a 21-14 match earlier in the day to No. 6 Princeton University.
Facing the Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC) front-running Tigers, junior Adam Ivatorov (Rockaway, N.Y.) gave MIT an early 2-1 lead. However, Princeton rattled off six-straight goals to take a 7-2 lead. A strike by sophomore Rick Lundh (Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.) with 1:12 left in the first quarter ended the Princeton run.
The Tigers opened the second quarter with three consecutive goals before Ivatorov completed the hat trick with a score at 4:31 to make it a 10-4 contest entering halftime.
A 9-4 Princeton third quarter gave the visitors a 19-8 lead heading into the final eight minutes. Sophomores Andras Beleznay (Delray Beach, Fla.) and William Ewald (Greenwich, Conn.) punched in strikes during the quarter’s waning seconds.
The Engineers outscored Princeton 6-2 in the final eight minutes. Sophomore Jackson Kay (Palo Alto, Calif.) scored two goals and junior David Keller (Long Beach, Calif.) wrapped up the tallies with 20 seconds remaining in the clash.
Ewald recorded a hat trick and led the way with five assists, while Ivatorov finished with a hat trick and four earned exclusions. Beleznay also notched a hat trick and earned two exclusions.
Taking on Long Island, the teams went back-and-forth early in the opening quarter before back-to-back goals by Ivatorov and a score from first year Avi Narula (Atlanta, Ga.) gave the Engineers a 5-3 lead.
MIT added two more goals from Lundh and sophomore Kieran Kearns (Palos Verdes Estates, Calif.) to open the second quarter and build a four-goal lead. Ivatorov made it a six-goal lead with his fourth goal of the game at 2:38 and his fifth goal with 18 seconds left gave the hosts an 11-5 lead heading into the break.
The Engineers continued to build on their lead, opening the third on a 4-0 run.
LIU scored three straight to cut the MIT advantage to 16-9 at 6:30 in the fourth, but goals from Beleznay and Narula helped the Engineers claim an 18-10 win.
Kearns led MIT with five assists in the match to bring his season total to 51, five shy of the program record.
Ivatorov tied his career high with seven goals. He is the first player in program history with three seven-goal games, and his 79 goals are the fifth most in a single season. He also earned five exclusions in the match.
Junior Kush Khamesra (Portland, Ore.) finished with a hat trick
Lundh’s two goals give him 50 on the season. He also led the team with five steals.
First year Armaan Gill (Long Grove, Ill.) made 10 stops in net.
Release courtesy Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Athletics Communications
