By Marco Munoz – Spear Reporter | Sophomore utility Sam Keightley winding up a shot against Princeton University (Photo by SJSU Athletics)
No. 11 San Jose State men’s water polo (5-3, 0-0 WCC) fought to a 14-12 comeback victory against No. 8 Princeton (8-1, 0-0 NWPC) on the first day of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Invite on Friday.
Sophomore utility Sam Keightley’s last-second goal came at the end of the match, putting an exclamation point on the Spartans’ hard-fought victory. Keightley added 3 goals to his season total, bringing his total to 27 goals.
The Spartans got their final chance to close when Sam Keightley scored with one second left to give the Spartans a 14-12 win over the Tigers.
“It was definitely a hard-fought game. Princeton is a really good, well-coached team,” SJSU head coach Gabor Sarusi said. “The second half was very promising. We adjusted well on defense and we limited what they had on offense, so that was the difference maker.”
In the third period, the Spartans kept close with 2 goals each from junior utility Samu Biros and Sam Keightley, one from senior center Giancarlo Marquez, and one from freshman driver Aron Sárfalvi to tie the match 10-10.
Despite the Spartans’ effort, the Tigers weren’t going to give up.
With 36 seconds left in the third period, Princeton’s junior attacker Enrique Nuño scored his fourth goal, putting Princeton back on top 11-10 heading into the fourth period.
In the first half of the fourth period, both teams were engaged in a stalemate until senior utility Louis Fehrensen scored back-to-back goals, followed by a goal from senior driver Mitchell Keightley to put the Spartans up 13-11.
Nuño kept the match close by scoring his fifth goal, putting the Tigers within one goal with 31 seconds left.
The Tigers opened the game by striking first, putting them up by one goal 21 seconds into the first period. The Spartans quickly equalized with a goal from junior utility Samu Biros.
The Spartans look to continue their momentum on the second day of the MPSF Invite against No. 2 USC at 10:40 a.m. on Saturday at Avery Aquatic Center in Palo Alto, Calif.
