No. 9 Harvard University-vs.-St. Francis College Brooklyn (NWPC Championship Game 4)
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Goalie Noah Hodge (So., San Juan Capistrano, Calif./Santa Margarita) made 13 saves to pick-up Player of the Game laurels as No. 9-ranked Harvard University defeated St. Francis College Brooklyn, 15-9, in the semifinals of the 2019 Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC) Championship hosted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Via the win, Harvard (28-0, 10-0 NWPC) advances to a 12:30 p.m. title tilt showdown with either No. 19 Princeton University or No. 19 Brown University – as both the Tigers and Bears were tied at No. 19-latest National Top 20 Poll.
The Crimson consistently outscored the Terriers throughout the contest by rattling off 5-2 scoring advantages in the first, second and third quarters prior to permitting a 3-0 outburst by St. Francis Brooklyn (19-12, 5-5 NWPC) in the fourth quarter for the 15-9 final score.
For the Crimson, Alex Tsotadze (So., Menlo Park, Calif./Sacred Heart Preparatory) scored three times with Alexandru Bucur (Fr., Sierra Madre, Calif./Harvard Westlake), Austin Sechrest (Sr., Mission Viejo, Calif./Capistrano Valley) and Dennis Blyashov (Jr., Carlsbad, Calif./Cathedral Catholic) depositing pairs. Kaleb Archer (Fr., Clovis, Calif./Buchanan), Gabe Putnam (Fr., Clovis, Calif./Buchanan), Bruno Snow (Jr., Covina, Calif./Claremont), Jackson Enright (Jr., San Mateo, Calif./Sacred Heart Preparatory), Charlie Owens (Sr., Wilton, Conn./Wilton) and Bennie Seybold (Sr., Corona del Mar, Calif./Mater Dei) each accounted for single tallies in the win.
Vladimir Mickic (Fr., Subotica, Serbia/Nikola Tesla) and Dominick Hevesi (Fr., Budapest, Hungary/Ferenc Kolcsey) led SFC with pairs of goals. Tadeu Rodrigues (Sr., Rio de Janeiro, Brazil/Colegio Pedro II), Mateus Santos (Sr., Sao Paulo, Brazil/Colegio Avanco), Nikola Nikolic (Fr., Nis, Serbia/First Nis Grammar School Stevan Sremac), Alex Teplitsky (Sr., Brooklyn, N.Y./Midwood) and William Lapkin (Sr., Newport Beach, Calif./Mater Dei) racked up the Terriers’ other seven goals as each athlete found the back of the cage once. In net, Viktor Klauzer (Sr., Szekesfehervar, Hungary/Vasvari Pal Ginazium) and Benedek Molnar (Sr., Budpaest, Hungary/Vorosmarty Mihaly) combined for eight saves.
| 1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | – | FINAL | |
| St. Francis College Brooklyn | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | – | 9 |
| No. 9 Harvard University | 5 | 5 | 5 | 0 | – | 15 |
| Harvard Goals: | Alex Tsotadze (3); Alexandru Bucur (2); Austin Sechrest (2); Dennis Blyashov (2); Kaleb Archer; Gabe Putnam; Bruno Snow; Jackson Enright; Charlie Owens; Bennie Seybold; | |||||
| SFC Goals: | Vladimir Mickic (2); Domninick Hevesi (2); Tadeu Rodrigues; Matheus Santos; Nikola Nikolic; Alex Teplitsky; William Lapkin | |||||
| Saves: | Harvard – Noah Hodge (13) ; SFC – Viktor Klauzer (4, 12 minutes), Benedek Molnar (4, 20 minutes) | |||||
| Exclusions: | Harvard – 14 ; SFC – 12 | |||||
| Advantage Opportunities: | Harvard – 5-for-12 ; SFC – 7-for-14 | |||||
| Sprints: | Harvard – 3-for-4 (1st, 3rd, 4th) ; SFC – 1-for-4 (2nd) | |||||
| Cards/Misconducts: | Harvard – YC (Dennis Blyashov, 2:25 left in 2nd Q) ; SFC – YC (Nikola Nikolic, 2:25 left in 2nd Q), YC (Head coach Bora Dimitrov, 1:21 let in 2nd Q), YC (Bench, 6:51 left in 3rd Q), RC (Assistant coach Alana Burgess, 6:49 left in 3rd Q), RC (William Lapkin, 6:16 left in 3rd Q) | |||||
| Officials: | Val Vasilchikov ; Michael Goldenberg | |||||
St. Francis College Brooklyn’s Nikola Nikolic (#12) shoots over Harvard University’s Alexandru Bucur (#15)
