PRINCETON, NJ - The MIT water polo team earned a fifth-place finish at the Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC) Tournament hosted by Princeton at Denunzio Pool. With Sunday's 10-8 win over LIU, the Engineers finished the tournament with a 2-1 record.
 
THE BASICS:

• Scores: MIT 10 LIU 8
• Records: MIT (9-16 Overall), LIU (10-23 Overall) 

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• MIT jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead on goals from sophomores Victor Perez and Kieran Kearns (Palos Verdes Estates, Calif.). Junior Adam Ivatorov (Rockaway, N.Y.) and sophomore Rick Lundh (Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.) extended the Engineer lead to 4-2, but the Sharks scored with eight seconds remaining in the quarter to pull to within one. Ivatorov then found the back of the net as time expired to give MIT a 5-3 lead after one.
• LIU got back to within one at 4:42, but Lundh scored 20 seconds later to put MIT back up two. Another goal by Lundh gave MIT a 7-5 lead after two quarters of play.
• The Sharks scored the only two goals of the third quarter to pull to within one with one quarter left to play.
• Fourth quarter goals from sophomore Andras Beleznay (Delray Beach, Fla.) and Kearns sealed MIT's victory, which led from wire-to-wire.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• Lundh led the team with four goals. Ivatorov and Kearns tallied two goals each in the contest.
• Kearns dished out a team-high three assists while sophomore William Ewald (Greenwich, Conn.) led the Engineers with three steals.
• First year Joshua Woren (Aurora, Calif.) made ten saves in net.
• Lundh was named to the All-Tournament Second Team and Ivatorov was named Honorable Mention All-Tournament, 

UP NEXT:

• MIT will head to California for the USA Water Polo Division III Championships which will be held in California from Saturday, December 7 – Sunday, December 8.  

STAY CONNECTED:

• For the latest on MIT Athletics, follow the Engineers on Facebook, Instagram, X, and YouTube.