CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The MIT water polo team outscored LIU 11-5 in the second and third quarters to take an 18-10 win over the Sharks on Saturday night in the Zesiger Center Pool. The Engineers dropped a 21-14 match earlier in the day to No. 6 Princeton.
 
THE BASICS:

• Scores: No. 6 Princeton 21, MIT 14; MIT 18, LIU 10
• Records: MIT (7-14 Overall, 1-8 NWPC), No. 6 Princeton (19-8 Overall, 7-1 NWPC), LIU (10-16 Overall, 1-5 NWPC)

HOW IT HAPPENED vs. PRINCETON

• After two goals from junior Adam Ivatorov (Rockaway, N.Y.) gave MIT an early 2-1 lead, the Tigers rattled off six-straight goals to take a 7-2 lead. Sophomore Rick Lundh's (Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.) goal at 1:12 in the first ended the Princeton run.
• Princeton opened the second with three straight goals before Ivatorov completed the hat trick with a score at 4:31 to make it a 10-4 contest at the half.
• A 9-4 Princeton third quarter gave the visitors a 19-8 lead heading into the final quarter. Sophomores Andras Beleznay (Delray Beach, Fla.) and William Ewald (Greenwich, Conn.) scored in the quarter's waning seconds.
• The Engineers outscored Princeton 6-2 in the final eight minutes. Sophomore Jackson Kay (Palo Alto, Calif.) scored two goals and junior David Keller (Long Beach, Calif.) wrapped up the scoring with his goal with 20 seconds remaining.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• Ewald recorded a hat trick and led the way with five assists
• Ivatorov finished with a hat trick and four earned exclusions.
• Beleznay also notched a hat trick and earned two exclusions.

HOW IT HAPPENED vs. LIU

• The teams went back-and-forth early in the opening quarter before back-to-back goals by Ivatorov and a score from first year Avi Narula (Atlanta, Ga.) gave the Engineers a 5-3 lead.
• MIT added two more goals from Lundh and sophomore Kieran Kearns (Palos Verdes Estates, Calif.) to open the second and build a four-goal lead. Ivatorov made it a six-goal lead with his fourth goal of the game at 2:38 and his fifth goal with 18 seconds left gave the hosts an 11-5 lead heading into the break.
• The Engineers continued to build on their lead, opening the third on a 4-0 run.
• LIU scored three straight to cut the MIT advantage to 16-9 at 6:30 in the fourth, but goals from Beleznay and Narula helped the Engineers claim the 18-10 win.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• Kearns led MIT with five assists in the match to bring his season total to 51, five shy of the program record.
• Ivatorov tied his career high with 7 goals. He is the first player in program history with three 7-goal games, and his 79 goals are the fifth most in a single season. He also earned five exclusions in the match.
• Junior Kush Khamesra (Portland, Ore.) finished with a hat trick
• Lundh's two goals give him 50 on the season. He also led the team with five steals.
• First year Armaan Gill (Long Grove, Ill.) made ten stops in net.

UP NEXT:

• The Engineers wrap up the regular season on Sunday, November 10 with a 10:00 AM match against Iona at the Zesiger Center Pool.

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