Most of the time, it is the offensive stars who make all the flashy plays and receive all the glory. But this wasn't the case with the No. 20 men's water polo team at the ECAC Championship over the weekend. Goalkeeper Kent Holland '10 had the Bears most impressive weekend, establishing himself as one of, if not the, best goalies on the East Coast with a total of 24 saves on the weekend.
The Bears started the weekend with a loss against No. 11 Bucknell University, falling 10-6 in their first round game. They played George Washington University next, who they defeated, 9-7, in the consolation bracket. Brown finished the weekend against No. 17 Johns Hopkins University, who defeated them, 6-5, in the battle for fifth place. Brown's record stands at 7-3 now on the year.
Coming off a long bus ride and a late night, the Bears gave their best in their first game of the weekend against Bucknell. The Bears played hard the whole game.
"The final score was not an indication of the game," said Head Coach Felix Mercado. "We were there for three and a half quarters."
Brown had the first goal of the game, and the scoring was back-and-forth until the end. After the first half, the Bears were only down 4-3, thanks to two goals from Mike Gartner '09 and one from co-captain Gerrit Adams '08. But the second half proved to be the real challenge for the team.
"It was really our first big game in a big pool," Mercado said. "Physically, our bodies weren't used to its size."
The water polo team has been limited in practices because of the closing of the Smith Swim Center due to structural problems, forcing it to hold practices in smaller-than-regulation pools.
After the third quarter, the Bears were only trailing by two with the score 7-5. But by the end of the game, the players' fitness became a factor. At the end of the fourth quarter the Bison pulled ahead, scoring three goals compared to only one Brown goal for a final score of 10-6.
"It was extremely close. We were doing really well for the first three quarters," Holland said. "But we had a couple of breakdowns that led to some easy goals."
Despite the loss, Holland and Gartner still managed to stand out. Holland had eight saves in the game, while Gartner drew an equal amount of ejections.
The Bears' loss humbled them before to their next game, and they came out energized against George Washington. "We went in with a little bit more fire and a little bit more intensity," said Corey Schwartz '11.
At the end of the first quarter, the Bears were tied with the Colonials 2-2, but Brown pulled ahead by the end of the second quarter for a 5-3 lead. First-half goals came from Schwartz, Nico Fort '09, Gordon Hood '11 and Hank Weintraub '09.
Schwartz scored his third goal of the game after two Brown goals and two George Washington goals to keep the Bears in the lead, 8-5, at the end of the third quarter.
The Colonials came back with two goals at the beginning of the fourth quarter, but Brown remained in front when Grant LeBeau '09 scored his second goal of the game with 1:12 remaining, securing the lead until the final whistle.
Mercado said it might have seemed like a close game, but in reality the Bears had control from the beginning.
"We were never threatened by (the Colonials)," he said. "But they never threw in the towel either."
Once again, Holland held up the defense with nine saves, while LeBeau, Schwartz and Gartner set the tone on offense.
In the Bears' final match of the weekend, they paired up against Johns Hopkins. Again, the Bears came out strong against a nationally ranked team, but couldn't hold on through all four quarters.
The Bears were tied with the Blue Jays, 3-3, at the end of the third quarter. Bruno pulled ahead, 5-3, in the final quarter, and it looked like its second victory just around the corner. But Johns Hopkins came back and scored three more goals to take its final lead, 6-5, and serve the Bears a second loss on the trip.
"We were up 5-3, but we just didn't have the fire," Gartner said. "We have the talent, we just need to want it."
Adams, Fort and Hood had one goal each, while Gartner led the team in scoring with two for an individual weekend total of eight goals. Gartner also drew four ejections this game, putting him at 18 ejections over the course of the entire weekend.
Holland also stood out yet again with seven saves in the game.
"(Holland) is a catalyst to our team," Mercado said. "He elevated his game to a different level."
Gartner also commented on his teammate's exceptional play, saying, "No one showed more fire or passion than Kent this weekend. He pulled the team through his play and gave our defense that extra edge."
Despite the Bears' 1-2 record in the tournament, they are now better prepared for what is to come when they travel to California next week to face No. 3 University of California Los Angeles, No. 5 Pepperdine University and No. 7 Long Beach State University.
"We're happy to have these losses now," Gartner said. "It was a good learning experience."
