The Hopkins water polo team made history on Saturday when it beat eighth-ranked Princeton 10-9. Never before has a D-III team defeated a top 10 CWPA school. Princeton suffered its first loss of the season, moving to 6-1.
The game was close the entire way, and the crowd at the Newton White Athletic Center was loud during the entire game. Freshman driver Jono Gillette and senior captain Johnny Beal scored crucial goals late in the fourth quarter to help the Jays retake the lead, but Princeton’s Connor McGoldrick scored with just 1:28 remaining to retie the game.
Beal was the hero for the Jays, scoring the final goal of the game with 48 seconds left to play. Junior utility Garrett Davidson fed Beal up high, who then fired home his third goal of the game after a convincing pump fake. The Jays got a crucial stop on Princeton’s next possession and were able to run out the clock to seal the victory.
Beal and junior driver Langdon Froomer finished with three goals apiece, while senior utility Wes Hopkins and Gillette each finished with two. Davidson and Hopkins each dished out two assists as well. Junior goalie Erik Henrikson finished with a career-high of 18 saves, the third most in school history.
According to Henrikson, the Jays were very thankful for their crowd support.
“I think the key to our close games was the support of our fans,” Henrikson said. “We got fired up from the friends and family who came out and got rowdy.”
The Jays faced another tough test the next day against visiting Bucknell. Hopkins came out a bit sluggishly, and the Bison took a commanding 7-4 lead at the half. Reinvigorated, the Jays scored three unanswered goals to start the second half, tying the match. Staked to a 10-9 lead entering the fourth quarter, Henrikson made some big plays to secure the victory for the Jays. Hopkins ended up cruising to a 14-12 victory after leading comfortably for most of the fourth quarter.
Hopkins paved the way with a season-high of five goals, and Froomer contributed six total points while Davidson fired a hat trick. Henrikson followed up his elite performance on Saturday by finishing with nine saves to earn the win. Bucknell had not allowed 14 goals since Oct. 27 of last year.
The Jays certainly were proud of their big weekend, which set them up nicely for the rest of the season. Their third straight victory takes them to 5-3 overall and 2-2 in the CWPA Southern Division, while Bucknell fell to 2-2 in the league and 4-5 on the season.
“Being the first D-III team to beat a top 10 D-I team says a lot about our team,” Beal said. “We don’t care who the other team is. If we get in there and just play our game, we will be successful.”
However, Froomer explained that the Jays will not be getting complacent.
“Yes, it was a big game, but we still have a lot of work to do,” Froomer said. “It puts us in a good position in our league. Now, we have to focus on going out to California and defending our D-III title from last year.”
After a busy weekend, Hopkins will refrain from competing for the rest of the month but will return to action in Claremont, Calif. the weekend of Oct. 3 at the Gary Troyer Memorial Tournament.
On the heels of the two victories, Henrikson is optimistic about the team’s playoff hopes.
“Come playoff time, we will have to be at the top of our division to have the best matchups at Southern,” Henrikson said. “If we win our first two games at Southern, we will qualify for the Eastern Championship, which is our overall goal for the whole season. If we get a good seed at that championship, we have the potential to play-in to a D-I semifinal matchup, which would be awesome.”
