The men's water polo team traveled to Cambridge, Mass. this past weekend to face Bucknell, MIT and Fordham in the Eastern Division Championships. After falling to Bucknell, 8-6, the Bears defeated MIT in overtime, 7-6, but lost to Fordham, 8-7.
Their 1-2 performance at the championships put an end to what had been an impressive season during which the Bears compiled a 17-12 record, going 5-1 in the Northern Division to win the league championship.
Bucknell 8, Brown 6
In the opening-round match of Easterns, Bucknell's 5-0 third-period run gave the Bison the win on Friday. Svetozar Stefanovic '13 led the offense with two goals, and Kent Holland '10 commanded the cage with nine saves in goal.
Bruno started off with an impressive 4-1 lead in the first half before collapsing. After 24 minutes of play, Bucknell scored five in a row to bring the score to 6-4. Bruno scored one more, followed by two more from the Bison. With 1:30 left on the clock, Dean Serure '13 scored, but that wasn't enough to stave off defeat. Despite the loss, Stefanovic, Gordon Hood '11 and Holland all earned First Team honors and Corey Schwartz '11 earned Second Team honors.
Brown 7, MIT 6 (OT)
After their opening loss, Brown was determined to come out with a win Saturday against an MIT squad playing before a hometown crowd. The teams fought to the very end, with the Bears finally outlasting the Engineers.
Stefanovic scored the first goal of the game, giving Bruno a short-lived lead. But MIT quickly tallied three more for a two-goal cushion. Schwartz notched a goal for the Bears before the half, but the Bears trailed, 3-2.
After the break, Hood evened the score just 2:12 into the second half. The teams continued to take turns in the lead for the rest of the game, with Stefanovic scoring two more and Hood scoring one.
When MIT looked poised to win, holding a 6-5 lead with just 23 seconds left on the clock, Stefanovic lived up to his Northern Division Player of the Year billing and scored to bring the game into overtime.
Overtime consisted of two three-minute periods by rule, but Schwartz had fired the game-winner with 32 seconds left in the first overtime.
Despite the offensive leaders' crucial efforts, Holland's impressive job in the cage earned him player of the game honors. The Brown goalkeeper made 27 saves, including four in the OT periods.
Fordham 8, Brown 7
The following day, Brown played Fordham in the fifth-place game. Hood and Schwartz led the offense with three and two goals, respectively. The Rams began with a 2-0 lead and kept it all the way to halftime, when they led, 6-4. After the third period, the score was 8-5.
The Bears tried not to lose steam, however, and ambitiously attempted to crawl their way back in the fourth and final period. Serure and Hood each scored one goal, which was not enough to seal a win, and the Bears fell, 8-7. Holland had six saves in goal.
