No. 9 Harvard University-vs.-No. 19 Princeton University (2019 NWPC Championship)
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Alex Tsotadze (So., Menlo Park, Calif./Sacred Heart Preparatory) made his final goal count as the sophomore lined in a five-meter penalty shot with 3:38 left in the fourth quarter for the deciding factor as No. 9-ranked Harvard University rallied form a 7-6 deficit with 7;22 left on the clock to take down No. 19 Princeton University and claim the 2019 Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC) Championship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
The 2016, 2017 and now 2019 NWPC Champion, the Crimson (29-0, 10-0 NWPC) remain the last undefeated team in the nation and clinch the 200th career coaching victory for head coach Ted Minnis. Harvard – which sweeps three meetings against nemesis Princeton after caging the Tigers 12-9 on October 5 in the Garden State and 10-6 on November 3 in the Bay State – clinches a return trip to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championship with a play-in game against Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) Champion Bucknell University back home at Blodgett Pool on Saturday, November 30, a likely scenario.
In a rematch of the 2017 (12-11 OT SD W for Harvard at Harvard) and 2018 (12-10 W for Princeton at Brown University) NWPC title tilts, the Crimson and Tigers went toe-to-toe, claw-to-claw and head-to-head from the opening sprint to the closing horn as neither team was able to deliver a decisive blow until Tsotadze’s penalty shot to end Princeton’s season and allow Harvard’s to continue with yet another postseason berth.
The 2016 (11-7 W vs. Brown at Princeton) and 2017 NWPC Champion, the Crimson jumped on the scoreboard first in the game as Gabe Putnam (Fr., Clovis, Calif./Buchanan) snapped in the opening strike at the 4:22 mark of the first quarter. The narrow lead lasted until the 1:43 mark when Keller Maloney (So., Los Angeles, Calif./Harvard-Westlake) connected on a man-up opportunity to balance the scoreboard at one-all.
The Crimson and Tigers traded scoring jabs in the remaining time during the first quarter as Jackson Enright (Jr., San Mateo, Calif./Sacred Heart Prep) converted a six-on-five chance with six seconds left prior to Yurian Quinones (Fr., Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif./Santa Margarita Catholic) delivering a quick strike with one tick showing on the board to square the teams at two-all.
Quinones’ score shifted the momentum to the Tigers as Wyatt Benson (So., Huntington Beach, Calif./Mater Dei) and Quinones went back-to-back with even-strength (5:54) and man-up (5:28) blasts, respectively, to build a 4-2 lead for 2018 NWPC Champion Princeton.
However, the 2016 and 2017 champs found their footing in the final four minutes of the first half as Enright deked his defender and faded in a power-play score at 3:40 before Austin Sechrest (Sr., Mission Viejo, Calif./Capistrano Valley) netted an equalizer with one minute to go in the second quarter to make it four-all.
Harvard went to the wire to regain the lead before halftime as Alexandru Bucur (Fr., Sierra Madre, Calif./Harvard Westlake) beat the buzzer and Princeton goalie Billy Motherway (So,, Santa Ana, Calif./Mater Dei) to bury a man-up shot for a 5-4 advantage after 16 minutes of back-and-forth water polo.
Both defense stiffened in the third quarter as the Crimson and Tigers stymied their opposition until Logan MacDonell (Sr., San Jose, Calif./Bellarmine College Prep) solved Harvard netminder Noah Hodge (So., San Juan Capistrano, Calif./Santa Margarita Catholic) at 2:30 for a tying score.
Princeton went back in front at 6-5 as Maloney put away a man-up score at 1:25, but Kaleb Archer (Fr., Clovis, Calif./Buchanan) fired in a response 18 seconds later (1:07) to tie the game at six-all and set the stage for heroics and heartbreak in the fourth quarter.
Princeton appeared set to shatter Harvard’s perfect record and postseason hopes as Casey Conrad (Jr., Lafayette, Calif./Acalanes) shattered the tie with 7:22 on the clock for a 7-6 Tigers’ lead.
Facing the possibility of seeing their undefeated season come to a dark fate at the hands of their archrival of the past several seasons, Harvard dug deep and came up with a win thanks to a herculean effort by Tsotadze in a pair of pressure situations.
The sophomore put away a power-play goal with 6:51 to go to tie the score at seven-all before taking the weight of Harvard’s entire 2019 season on his shoulders to bury the deciding five-meter penalty shot with 3:38 left.
Hodge and the Crimson defense finished off the win by stifling Princeton down the stretch to hang on for another league championship and NCAA automatic berth.
For new league champion Harvard, Enright and Tsotadze both scored twice with Bucur, Archer, Putnam and Sechrest each notching solo strikes. Hodge finished with 16 saves – including six in the first quarter to keep the Crimson in the game and four in the fourth quarter to permit the comeback.
Princeton received pairs of goals from Quinones and Maloney. MacDonell, Benson and Conrad each deposited single scores in support of a 14 save effort by Motherway.
Following the conclusion of the championship the 2019 NWPC All-Tournament Team was announced with Hodges, Bucur and Minnis claiming Most Valuable Player, Rookie of the Tournament and Dick Russell Coach of the Tournament honors:
| 2019 Northeast Water Polo Conference Championship | |
| All-Tournament Team | |
| Most Valuable Player: | Noah Hodge (Harvard University) |
| Rookie of the Tournament: | Alexandru Bucur (Harvard University) |
| Coach of the Tournament: | Ted Minnis (Harvard University) |
| First Team | |
| Noah Hodge (Goalie) | Harvard University |
| Charlie Owens | Harvard University |
| Dennis Blyashov | Harvard University |
| Austin Sechrest | Harvard University |
| Joan Coloma | Princeton University |
| Wyatt Benson | Princeton University |
| Armen Deirmenjian | Brown University |
| Second Team | |
| Antonio Knez (Goalie) | Princeton University |
| Yurian Quinones | Princeton University |
| James Thygesen | Brown University |
| Alex Tsotadze | Harvard University |
| Quinn Lloyd | Iona College |
| Miller Geschke | Massachusetts Instiute of Technology |
| Dominick Hevesi | St. Francis College Brooklyn |
| Honorable Mention | |
| Leo Berkman | Brown University |
| Jackson Enright | Harvard University |
| Jorge Andres Torres | Iona College |
| Kevin Downey | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| Pierce Maloney | Princeton University |
| Vladimir Mickic | St. Francis College Brooklyn |
| 1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | – | FINAL | |
| No. 19 Princeton University | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | – | 7 |
| No. 9 Harvard University | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | – | 8 |
| Harvard Goals: | Jackson Enright (2); Alex Tsotadze (2); Alexandru Bucur; Kaleb Archer; Gabe Putnam; Austin Sechrest | |||||
| Princeton Goals: | Yurian Quinones (2); Keller Maloney (2); Logan MacDonell; Wyatt Benson; Casey Conrad | |||||
| Saves: | Harvard – Noah Hodge (16) ; Princeton – Billy Motherway (14) | |||||
| Exclusions: | Harvard – 9 ; Princeton – 13 | |||||
| Advantage Opportunities: | Harvard – 5-for-13 ; Princeton – 4-for-9 | |||||
| Sprints: | Harvard – 1-for-4 (3rd) ; Princeton – 3-for-4 (1st, 2nd, 4th) | |||||
| Cards/Misconducts: | Princeton – YC (Head coach Dustin Litvak, halftime), YC/RC (Head coach Dustin Litvak, 4:45 left in 4th Q) | |||||
| Officials: | Michael Goldenberg ; Hadi Farid | |||||
Harvard University head coach Ted Minnis talks to his team
Princeton University’s Pierce Maloney (#18)
Princeton University head coach Dusty Litvak discusses strategy
Harvard University’s Alex Tsotadez (#12) shoots as Princeton University’s Casey Conrad (#5) spectates
Harvard University’s Noah Hodge (#1)
Princeton University’s Yurian Quinones (#17)
2019 Northeast Water Polo Conference Championship Runner-Up: Princeton University
2019 Northeast Water Polo Conference Championship Champion: Harvard University
2019 Northeast Water Polo Conference Championship Rookie of the Tournament – Alexandru Bucur (Harvard University)
2019 Northeast Water Polo Conference Championship Most Valuable Player – Noah Hodge (Harvard University)
2019 Northeast Water Polo Conference Championship Coach of the Tournament – Ted Minnis (Harvard University)
