BROOKLYN HEIGHTS, N.Y./PRINCETON, N.J. — Brown University men’s water polo dropped a 12-10 decision at St. Francis Brooklyn and a 16-11 decision at No. 12 Princeton University in a pair of Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC) games at the SFC Aquatic Center and DeNunzio Pool, respectively.
Playing in their first NWPC games of the year, the Bears rallied to take a 10-9 lead in the fourth quarter before falling to the Terriers in game one and remained within 11-10 with under a minute to play in the third quarter in game two prior to falling to the Tigers.
Junior Armen Deirmenjian (Beverly Hills, Calif.) led the Bears with six goals on the day, while junior Hudson Rawlings (Murrieta, Calif.) scored four goals against St. Francis. Freshman goalkeeper Ugo Piovan (Vouliagmeni, Greece) made 18 saves between the two games.
Facing St. Francis Brooklyn, Rawlings posted a team-high seven points, but Brown’s comeback bid fell just short.
Playing in their first Northeast Water Polo Conference game of the year, the Bears rallied from a 9-5 deficit in the second half to take a 10-9 lead in the fourth quarter before the host Terriers scored the game’s final three goals.
Rawlings tallied his seven points on four goals and three assists, while fellow junior Deirmenjian registered three goals and three steals.
Seniors Travis Bouscaren (Cambridge, Mass.) and Spencer Carroll (Newport Beach, Calif.) and sophomore Aidan Reilly (Los Angeles, Calif.) each notched a goal and an assist. Carroll added two steals and three ejections drawn, Bouscaren drew three ejections, and junior James Thygesen (Menlo Park, Calif.) distributed two assists.
In the cage, Piovan made 11 saves alongside an assist.
The Bears took a 2-1 lead at the end of the first quarter behind a pair of goals from Deirmenjian. The Terriers opened the second quarter’s scoring with back-to-back goals to pull ahead 3-2.
Consecutive goals from Rawlings and Bouscaren pushed Brown back in the lead, 4-3, with 3:26 remaining in the second stanza. Two more goals from St. Francis gave the hosts a 5-4 edge at halftime.
In the third quarter, the Terriers gained a 7-4 advantage before Reilly stopped the hosts’ 4-0 run with a goal at the 2:41 mark. St. Francis pulled ahead 9-5 before Deirmenjian began Brown’s comeback bid, cutting the deficit to 9-6 heading to the final frame.
Brown capped a 5-0 run as the Bears went ahead 10-9 with 5:34 to play. Rawlings netted three of Brown’s four consecutive goals to start the fourth quarter, finishing the run with a goal from beyond five meters. Carroll scored the Bears’ other goal during the streak.
Following back-to-back saves from Piovan, St. Francis netted two goals to pull ahead 11-10 with 2:24 left. After both Thygesen and Carroll hit the crossbar, the Terriers scored the game’s final goal with 1:03 on the clock.
Versus Princeton, Deirmenjian netted a hat trick as Brown dropped a 16-11 decision to the Tigers.
The Bears remained within 11-10 of the Tigers with under a minute to play in the third quarter before the hosts netted five of the contest’s final six goals.
Deirmenjian added an assist and two ejections drawn to his three goals. Carroll tallied two goals and two assists while fellow seniors Bouscaren and Santiago Nunez (Miami, Fla.) each notched two goals and an assist. Nunez chipped in two ejections drawn.
Thygesen registered a goal and two assists, and junior Galen Hu (Colleyville, Texas) netted one goal. Freshman Niko Bhatia (Los Altos, Calif.) handed out two assists.
Piovan made seven saves.
The Bears and Tigers went back and forth in the first quarter with the period witnessing five ties and a lead change as Brown led 6-5 after one. Nunez opened the scoring for Brown before a pair of markers from Bouscaren tied the game at 3-3 midway through the stanza. Two goals from Deirmenjian and a tally from Carroll pushed Brown ahead 6-5.
Another goal from Carroll to start the second quarter gave Brown a 7-5 advantage. Answering goals from Princeton, tallies from Nunez and Thygesen kept the visitors up 9-7 with 2:12 to play in the half. The Tigers scored twice inside of the half’s final 97 seconds to knot the score at 9-9 at the break.
After Princeton initiated the third quarter’s scoring, a goal from Deirmenjian tied the contest at 10-10 with 6:09 left in the period. Princeton took an 11-10 lead at the 5:41 mark, but neither side scored again until the Tigers netted a pair of goals in the quarter’s final 56 seconds to pull ahead 13-10 heading to the fourth.
Following four minutes of scoreless action to start the fourth quarter, the hosts scored the first three goals of the frame before Hu netted the match’s final goal.
Release courtesy Brown University Athletics Communications
