Bucknell Men’s Water Polo went 0-3 over the weekend at the Princeton Invite in New Jersey, as it took on No. 1 UCLA on Saturday, as well as No. 16 Harvard and No. 9 Princeton on Sunday. The Bison took a 24-10 loss against top-ranked UCLA, but kept it closer against Princeton (19-9) and Harvard (20-16).

The Orange and Blue started strong against the Bruins, who had toppled No. 4 Fordham earlier in the day. Aleksa Stefanovic ’26, previously an All-America Honorable Mention, opened the scoring for the Bison, and Jack Murad ’26 evened up the score at 3-3, the closest the Orange and Blue would get to the Bruins that afternoon. UCLA would finish the first quarter with a 5-3 lead and extend it to 13-3 by halftime. The third quarter was closer, with the Bison holding UCLA to four goals, while netting three of their own. In the end, the Bruins put up seven goals in the fourth quarter to defeat the Orange and Blue 24-10.

On Sunday morning, the Orange and Blue took on Harvard in a hard-fought affair, where the Crimson pulled away in overtime. The first quarter went back and forth, with both teams finding the back of the cage six times. The Orange and Blue started the second quarter strong with a 2-0 start, but Harvard responded with a 3-0 stretch to take the lead at the break. After another 3-2 quarter, the Bison entered the fourth quarter down two goals. The Orange and Blue netted six, with Stefanovic scoring what appeared to be the game-winner inside 20 seconds to play. But the Crimson made a quick run down the pool to tie the match with just three seconds remaining. Harvard held the Bison scoreless through the overtime period to take the match 20-16.

The second game that day, against Princeton, was not nearly as close. Bucknell held on through the first half, falling behind 4-3 in the first quarter and 8-5 before the break. The Tigers separated from the Bison in the second half, rattling the cage seven times in the third and four times in the fourth, as the Orange and Blue couldn’t respond.

Men’s Water Polo returns to Lewisburg, Pa. on Sept. 20 and 21 as it hosts the Bucknell Invitational.