Princeton University-vs.-Iona College (Game 1 – 2018 Northeast Water Polo Conference Championship)
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Matt Payne (Sr., Laguna Beach, Calif./Mater Dei) scored four times to lead the way for No. 18-ranked Princeton University as the Tigers turned back Iona College 16-7, in the opening game on Day One of the 2018 Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC) hosted at Brown University’s Katherine Moran Coleman Aquatics Center.
The victory advances Princeton (17-10, 6-4 NWPC) into the NWPC Championship semifinals as the squad will face regular season runner-up St. Francis College Brooklyn at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 17, with a berth in the NWPC Championship game on the line. Due to the loss, Iona (6-26, 0-10 NWPC) will compete for Fifth Place at 1:00 p.m. on November 17 against the loser of a first round game pitting the host No. 16 Bears of Brown and the Division III No. 5 Engineers of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
The Tigers never trailed versus the Gaels as Payne drilled in a man-up chance 57 seconds into the game to provide Princeton a quick 1-0 lead. Ryan Wilson (Sr., Pacific Palisades, Calif./Loyola), Wyatt Benson (Fr., Huntington Beach, Calif./Mater Dei), Payne and Benson followed with even-strength strikes at 6:38, 5:45, 3:23 and 2:26, respectively, to make it 5-0 prior to Mitchell Cooper (Fr., Newport Coast, Calif./Corona del Mar) zipping in a man-up chance (31 seconds) and Payne completing a hat-trick (eight seconds) to provide Princeton a commanding 7-0 lead after eight minutes of play.
The margin ballooned to 10-0 before Iona could respond as Keller Maloney (Fr., Los Angeles, Calif./Harvard-Westlake) (7:21, even-strength), Payne (5:16, penalty shot) and Casey Conrad (So., Lafayette, Calif./Acalanes) (1:52, man-up) scored in all three manners to commence the second quarter.
Iona broke up the shutout with 37 seconds left in the first half as Brett Hofer (So., Tinley Park, Ill./Victor J. Andrew) buried a natural goal to pull the Gaels within nine at 10-1. However, the Tigers closed out the second quarter and first half by returning the margin to 10 as Alec Mendelsohn (So,, Studio City, Calif./Harvard-Westlake) lined in a chance with 11 ticks left on the clock to hold an 11-1 lead entering the break.
Following a man-up conversion by Cooper at the 7:33 mark of the third quarter to go ahead by 11 at 12-1, the Gaels rattled off a run as Philip Wachowski (R-Jr., Park Ridge, Ill./Maine South) swished a natural marker at 6:24 before Patrick Hudak (So., Cincinnati, Ohio/St. Xavier) followed by converting a six-on-five bid at 5:03 to move Iona within nine at 12-3.
Princeton regained an 11-goal margin, however, as Mendelsohn (4:28, man-up) and Will Ueberroth (So., Corona del Mar, Calif./Corona del Mar) (2:47, natural) flushed shots to snag a 14-3 lead. Iona chipped its deficit down to 10 prior to the concluding horn of the frame as Jason Hill (Sr., Shillington, Pa./Governor Mifflin) sliced home a power-play opportunity with 2:09 to play in the quarter to move within 14-4.
The lead swayed from 10-to-11-to-10 and finally to nine throughout the duration of the fourth quarter as Davis Wachtell (Jr., Los Angeles, Calif./Harvard-Westlake) (7:30, man-up) and Christopher Xi (Jr., Atherton, Calif./Menlo School) (4:19, natural) fired in the final coffin nails for Princeton, with Quinn Lloyd (Jr., Sinking Spring, Pa./Wilson) (5:17), Wachowski (3:36) and German Rodriguez (Fr., Lima, Peru, Santa Maria) (2:51) sticking in natural markers for the 16-7 final score.
For Princeton, Benson, Cooper and Mendelsohn each posted pairs of points, while Wilson, Xi, Wachtell, Conrad, Maloney and Ueberroth all contributed solo strikes.
In cage, Ryan Melosini (Sr., Trabuco Canyon, Calif./Santa Margarita Catholic) turned away seven scoring tries to earn the win for the Tigers. Iona’s Jorge Andres Torres (Jr., Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico/Colegio San Jose) took the loss with seven saves and 11 goals allowed prior to Michael Banks (Jr., Orlando, Fla./Winter Park) coming in to stop six shots with five goals allowed in the second half.
Wachowski keyed the Gaels’ offense with a pair of goals, while Hofer, Rodriguez, Hill, Lloyd and Hudak each tacked on single scores.
The victory marks the third of the year for Princeton over Iona as the Tigers clawed past the Gaels 11-8 and 14-10 during the regular season. Further, it advances Princeton to the NWPC Championship semifinals for the third time in as many tournaments as the team finished in Third Place in 2016 at home and Second Place last year at Harvard University.
Iona will have a chance to continue a string of Fifth Place game success as the Gaels downed MIT in both 2016 (9-8 OT SD W at Princeton) and 2017 (10-9 OT W at Harvard).
| 1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | – | FINAL | |
| Iona College | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | – | 7 |
| Princeton University | 7 | 4 | 3 | 2 | – | 16 |
| Princeton Goals: | Matt Payne (4); Wyatt Benson (2); Mitchell Cooper (2); Alec Mendelsohn (2); Ryan Wilson; Christopher Xi; Davis Wachtell; Casey Conrad; Keller Maloney; Will Ueberroth | |||||
| Iona Goals: | Philip Wachowski (2); Brett Hofer; German Rodriguez; Jason Hill; Quinn Lloyd; Patrick Hudak | |||||
| Saves: | Princeton – Ryan Melosini (7) ; Iona -Jorge Andres Torres (7, 16 mintues), Michael Banks (6, 16 minutes) | |||||
| Exclusions: | Princeton – 12 ; Iona – 11 | |||||
| Advantage Opportunities: | Princeton – 7-for-11 ; Iona – 2-for-12 | |||||
| Sprints: | Princeton – 3-for-4 (1st, 2nd, 4th) ; Iona – 1-for-4 (3rd) | |||||
| Cards/Misconducts: | None | |||||
| Officials: | Michael Schofield, JR Perez | |||||
Princeton University’s Casey Conrad (#5)
Iona College’s Andrew Brozovic (#6) fires a shot as Princeton University’s Casey Conrad (#5) defends
Iona College’s Philip Wachowski (#19)
Princeton University’s Michael Swart (#10) lines up a shot against Iona College
