PAYNE CONTROL: Princeton University men’s water polo player Matt Payne gets ready to unload the ball in recent action. Last weekend, junior star Payne came up big as the 11th-ranked Tigers opened Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC) play with wins over Harvard (11-9 on Saturday), MIT (13-11 on Sunday), and Brown (9-8 on Sunday). The Tigers, now 12-3 overall and 3-0 NWPC, are next in action when they host Wagner on October 5. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

Over its recent four-game swing in California, the Princeton University men’s water polo team squandered some opportunities in going 2-2.

With an 11-8 defeat to No. 6 Long Beach State on September 22 sticking in his mind, Princeton head coach Luis Nicolao knows that his squad was on the verge of a great trip.

“We really had some chances in that first game against a top team,” said Nicolao, whose team trailed 8-2 before narrowing the gap to 9-6 late in the third quarter.

“When I look back on it now, we didn’t play until 6 o’clock West Coast time or 9 o’clock East Coast time. Even though we thought we were ready, you look up at the scoreboard in the first quarter and we are losing 5-1. I think just sitting around all day in the hotel, we were sluggish. By the time we woke up, we got back into it and we had some chances but we missed some penalty shots.”

Bouncing back from that setback, Princeton topped Pomona Pitzer 12-11 in overtime and edged UC-San Diego 13-12 while falling 14-7 to UC-Santa Barbara as it wrapped up action in California.

“We were happy, that is a tough trip,” said Nicolao. “When we got out there that early in the year, it is just getting good games.”

As it opened Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC) play last weekend, the 11th-ranked Tigers got three good wins even though they didn’t take advantage of all of their opportunities, defeating Harvard 11-9 on Saturday before beating MIT 13-11 and edging Brown 9-8 on Sunday.

“We are not finishing; we are not putting teams away and I think that is our next step as a team,” said Nicolao, whose team is now 12-3 overall and 3-0 NWPC.

“You get these two or three goal leads and then you need to put the nail in the coffin and finish it off. Right now we have a tendency to leave some goals in the water and that makes things a little harder than they have to be.”

Princeton is going through a hard stretch as it hits the dog days of October.

“Unfortunately we had some injuries Sunday morning against MIT, there were a couple of guys out in the game against Brown,” said Nicolao.

“We were gassed. The guys fought hard and hung in there. At this point, we are three weeks into school and the flu bug is catching up with guys. It is just, get after it and get through these games; it is a grind right now. Midterms start in two weeks.”

Reflecting on the team’s play so far this season, Nicolao believes the Tigers have the offensive firepower to grind out wins.

“We have a much greater balance this year, multiple guys are scoring,” said Nicolao.

“Jordan Colina (38 goals and 17 assists) and Matt Payne (28 goals and 20 assists) are just two very special offensive players that create a lot of opportunities. They are not the biggest guys in the water but they are so active. They are so quick.”

In Nicolao’s view, Princeton has the opportunity to do some special things when it gets to the NWPC tournament next month.

“We are healthier and deeper than we were last year,” said Nicolao, whose team is next in action when it hosts Wagner on October 5.

“If we can keep healthy going into November, I think we are going to be in a great position.”