Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
#15 Princeton
Overtime Goal by Masterson Propels No. 12 Bucknell Men's Water Polo to Thrilling 13-12 Victory Over No. 15 Princeton
9/14/2007 8:00:00 AM | Men's Water Polo
Sept. 14, 2007
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Mark Masterson (Kihei, Hawaii/Marin) stole the ball at midpool and scored on a breakaway in sudden-victory overtime to give the No. 12 Bucknell men's water polo team a thrilling 13-12 victory over No. 15 Princeton in front of a lively standing-room only crowd at Kinney Natatorium Friday evening. The victory helped the Bison improve to 6-1 this season, their best start since opening the 1984 campaign 10-1.
Jason Rechel (Columbus, Ohio/Thomas Worthington) opened the sudden-victory overtime period by winning his seventh sprint of the game to give Bucknell possession first. The Bison used most of the shot clock before turning the ball over to the Tigers, who fell to 5-1 on the season. Princeton's goalie, Scott Syverson, attempted an outlet pass, but Masterson picked it off and swam toward the goal with a defender hanging on him before finally netting the winning score past Syverson 52 seconds into the period.
The game was close throughout as neither team held more than a two-goal lead. In fact, over the last 15:38, neither squad opened up an advantage of more than one goal.
The Bison scored on their first possession of both three-minute overtime periods with Kyle Roslyn (Philadelphia, Pa./William Penn Charter) scoring his only goal of the game in the first overtime and Masterson netting the go-ahead score in the second overtime in a man-up situation.
Masterson's goal to open the second overtime put Bucknell up 12-11 and it held onto that lead until the final seconds. With the blue-clad capacity crowd on its feet urging the Bison for a defensive stop, Zach Breckmann scored with just four seconds left to send the game to the sudden-victory situation.
Bucknell opened the game failing to score in the first quarter as Princeton jumped out to a 2-0 lead. However, the Bison were able to climb to within 4-3 at halftime and proceeded to go on a 4-1 run in the first seven minutes of the third quarter to open a 7-5 advantage. Rechel, who registered a team-high five goals and one assist, had three goals during that stretch, including a breakaway in which he swam the length of the pool with the ball with just over a minute remaining in the period.
The Tigers quickly responded, tallying two goals in the final 46 seconds of the third quarter to even the score at 7-7. The final goal came from Mark Zalewski with just one second showing on the clock.
Both teams scored a goal in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter as the score was tied at 8-8 entering the final two minutes. Zalewski put Princeton up with 1:51 left with the fifth of his team-high six goals. However, Masterson answered on a penalty shot that bounced in just 11 seconds later to tie the game and force overtime.
While Bucknell fired an impressive 35 shots to score 13 goals, it had opportunities to score many more. On three separate occasions the Bison had shots hit off the crossbar of the goal. Each time the score was tied as it happened to Rechel in the second quarter with the score 2-2, Gabriel Heiber (Aventura, Fla./Miami Beach) in the second with the score 3-3 and Masterson in the fourth quarter with it 7-7.
Both teams were strong in 6-on-5 situations as Bucknell was 4-for-6 and Princeton was 4-for-8.
Syverson made 13 saves for Princeton, including six in the first quarter, while Belenky had six for the Bison.
Rechel and Masterson combined for nine goals, two assists and eight of Bucknell's 19 steals. Freshman Richie Hyden (Riverside, Conn./Greenwich) added a pair of goals, including the go-ahead score early in the fourth quarter on a beautiful pass from a spinning Heiber on a fast break.
Bucknell's win over Princeton was its second over the Tigers since late in the 1998 season. The Bison last defeated Princeton 12-11 in overtime two years ago at Kinney Natatorium to end a 17-game losing streak to their conference opponent. Bucknell had been 1-22 in its last 23 games with the Tigers before Friday's win.
The Bison improved to 2-1 this season against ranked foes, having also defeated then-No. 13 Pacific two weeks ago.
Bucknell will face another ranked team in No. 20 Johns Hopkins on Saturday afternoon at Kinney Natatorium. The two teams will square off at 12 p.m. It will be the second of three home games for the Bison this weekend. They will also face George Washington on Sunday at 12 p.m.
PRINCETON 2 2 3 2 2 1 0 -12
BUCKNELL 0 3 4 2 2 1 1 -13
Goals: Rechel (5), Masterson (4), Hyden (2), Roslyn, Nelson.
Assists: Hyden (2), Roslyn (2), Masterson, Heiber, Rechel, Ang.
Ejections Drawn: Masterson (2), Rechel, Roslyn, Nelson, Lampley.
Saves: Belenky (6 svs., 12 ga., 38:52 min.).
Steals: Masterson (4), Rechel (4), Hyden (2), Heiber (2), Roslyn (2), Lampley (2), Anderson, O'Keefe, Belenky.
Sprints: Rechel (7-7).
Record: 6-1, 1-0 CWPA Southern Division
