After going undefeated in the season's first tournament at Colby, the water polo team shook off its opponents in the season's second round-robin at Bowdoin on Sept. 29 and 30 with four decisive wins. The Jumbos emerged in sole possession of first place in the North Atlantic Division and preserved a sterling 8-0 record.
On Sunday, the Jumbos capped the tournament by squaring off with an overmatched University of Vermont team, getting their bench some playing time in the 13-6 victory. The scoring distribution was an impressive one, with 11 Jumbos, including junior goalkeeper Hayden Reich, contributing goals.
"Of course it is always nice to get a lot of guys to score," senior co-captain Drew Curhan said. "More importantly, it shows that we have a healthy offense and good ball distribution."
Earlier in the day, the Jumbos faced off against Colby, the only other North Atlantic Division team undefeated through six games. The Jumbos and Mules remained deadlocked at 2-2 through the first quarter, but Tufts was able to isolate Colby's Achilles heel and eventually broke away for a final score of 14-8.
"Their team kind of revolved around one player," junior Peter Georgakakos said. "We assigned a person to guard him that would set him down. He was removed from the game, and we got to play our game and dominated him."
That 2-0 day followed an equally perfect Saturday in which the team scored two victories and upped its record to 6-0. Tufts' contest against the U.S. Coast Guard Academy team proved to be the most challenging match of the tournament. Several ejections in the first quarter left the team with a numbers disadvantage and hurt its scoring opportunities, and after a period of play, the Jumbos found themselves down 3-2.
But the Jumbos responded, adding 11 more tallies over the next three quarters while holding the Bears to five for a final score of 13-8.
"They were doing a really good job of moving around and driving," senior co-captain Marshall Somers said. "They caught us a little off guard, but we adjusted pretty well to their constant movement and overall, I think our defense improved."
"They play a really physical game, so that's what we were expecting," Georgakakos added. "We went in and we were winning by so much, they didn't have time to get physical. Our team really clicked with each other, and we were able to play our game and didn't have to worry about them coming after us."
The defensive effort was led by Reich, who posted 13 stops against Coast Guard and 41 throughout the course of the tournament.
"He has just been an amazing force this year," Georgakakos said. "He was always the anchor of our defense, but this year especially he's had some amazing saves that really kept the momentum on our side. He came up huge and made some great saves that gave us a mental edge, because we can trust our goalie more and not have to worry about what's going to happen in the goal."
"He played probably the best tournament I've seen him play," Curhan added. "In our eyes, he was the tournament MVP. He was the difference-maker in a lot of those games because he kept us in the games early, which led to our eventual win."
Tufts kicked off the tournament by reestablishing its dominance over Bates, which the Jumbos defeated last month by 15 goals. The team once again trounced the Bobcats, this time by a score of 17-3, with Georgakakos leading the scoring barrage with four goals. With the win secure, the Jumbos utilized the opportunity to give some of the team's newest members some exposure to competition.
"A lot of our bench guys who are learning got to go in and show that they've been listening in practice," Georgakakos said. "We were pleasantly surprised with how well they were doing, not needing any of the starters to help them."
In addition to Reich and Georgakakos, who chipped in with 18 goals overall, several Jumbos gave strong performances for the weekend. With juniors Loren Austin and Ben Mitchell injured, others stepped up to keep the Jumbo front solid. Sophomore Braulio Rivas and senior Eric Appelin contributed excellent defensive games, with Rivas capitalizing on many steal opportunities and Appelin drawing several kickouts.
"[Appelin] shut down the other teams' two-meter offense," Curhan said. "He didn't let them score or stole the ball when it came in to them, and he could match up with the best player on the other team."
The Jumbos' success at Bowdoin leaves them in prime position heading into the North Atlantic Division Championship, to be held Oct. 27 and 28 in Brunswick, Maine. Tufts will take on the struggling 0-8 Vermont Catamounts before facing the winner of a Coast Guard-Bates matchup. Though the Jumbos are confident in their ability to shut down their opponents come tournament time, they refuse to be complacent in their quest for a national championship berth.
"Having faced both of them before, we like the way we match up," Somers said. "We're going to try not to sit back and think that just because we beat them already, they won't come out to play, because it's a pretty important single elimination tournament - but I think we're ready."
