Bucknell University
#18 Princeton
No. 11 Bucknell Men's Water Polo Takes Third at ECAC Championship with 11-8 Win Over No. 18 Princeton
9/30/2007 8:00:00 AM | Men's Water Polo
Sept. 30, 2007
ECAC Championship Results
LEWISBURG, Pa. - After beating Princeton just once in eight seasons, the Bucknell men's water polo team has now done it twice in just over two weeks. The Bison, ranked 11th in the country, defeated the No. 18 Tigers 11-8 Sunday afternoon at Kinney Natatorium to take third place in the ECAC Championship. It is the highest finish for Bucknell at the event since placing second in 2004.
Five Bison netted two goals apiece as they built a large first-half lead over Princeton. Bucknell led 7-2 at halftime, and opened up a five-goal advantage three other times in the second half.
A big second quarter in which the Bison outscored the Tigers 5-1 was the key to the game. Mark Masterson (Kihei, Hawaii/Marin), who totaled two goals and equaled his career high with four assists, had a hand in the first four goals of the quarter. The only score for Princeton in the period came on a five-meter penalty shot by Zach Beckmann.
Bucknell led by as many as five goals (10-5) two minutes into the final quarter, but Princeton's transition game came alive and the Tigers netted three goals in a span of less than three minutes to narrow their deficit to 10-8. A goal by Josh Sunday (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) with three minutes remaining put and end to Princeton's run and rounded out the scoring. Masterson was credited with the assist.
Sunday, Gabriel Heiber (Aventura, Fla./Miami Beach), Kyle Roslyn (Philadelphia, Pa./William Penn Charter), and Alex Lampley (Reading, Pa./Governor Mifflin) joined Masterson with two goals in the game. Richie Hyden (Riverside, Conn./Greenwich) added one goal and three assists to move into a tie with Roslyn for the team lead with 14 assists this year.
Limiting Princeton to its fewest goals in the series since it netted eight in a win Oct. 11, 2005, Bucknell's defense was strong. Overall, the Bison tallied 15 steals, including four by Masterson and three by goalie Luke Belenky (Kensington, Md./German School). Belenky also had five saves.
The Bison had struggled in recent years against Princeton, winning just once in their last 23 meetings with the Tigers before this year. However, Bucknell defeated Princeton 13-12 in a thrilling overtime affair just over two weeks ago and posted its second straight win in the series Sunday. The last time the Bison owned a two-game winning streak against the Tigers was 1998.
Bucknell (10-2), which finished fourth at the ECAC Championship each of the last two years, earned its best finish at the event since losing to St. Francis (N.Y.) in the 2004 title game.
The Bison, who are 5-2 against ranked foes this season, will have another difficult schedule ahead of them next weekend. They will play at Princeton and also face Queens on Saturday, Oct. 6, while next Sunday, Oct. 7, they will host Navy and St. Francis (N.Y.) at Kinney Natatorium. Princeton, Navy and St. Francis are all currently ranked in the national top-20 poll.
PRINCETON 1 1 2 4 -8
BUCKNELL 2 5 2 2 -11
Goals: Masterson (2), Roslyn (2), Heiber (2), Sunday (2), Lampley (2).
Assists: Masterson (4), Hyden (3), Rechel, Roslyn.
Ejections Drawn: Heiber (2), Sunday, Roslyn, Lampley.
Saves: Belenky (5 svs., 8 ga., 32:00 min.).
Steals: Masterson (4), Belenky (3), Roslyn (2), Hyden, Heiber, Rechel, Anderson, Sunday, Lampley.
Sprints: Rechel (1-3), Hyden (1-1).
Record: 10-2
