The men’s water polo team is tied as No. 10 in the nation after playing in the Harvard Invitational Oct. 15-16. The Bison finished with two wins and one loss at the Invitational, bringing their record to 14-3 this season.

On Oct. 15, the team faced off against No. 9 Princeton Tigers. The game was tied 6-6 going into the fourth quarter, but the Tigers netted a goal early in the period to take the lead. The Bison fought back and tied the match at 7-7 with 1:17 remaining on a goal from Rade Joksimovic ’20.

With just over 30 seconds to play, the Bison had a one-man advantage due to a Princeton ejection. Ratimir Babic ’17 broke the tie with a shot off a pass from Joksimovic, who finished with three goals and two assists in the game. Babic finished with the game-winning goal and two assists. Tommy Stupp ’18 had a goal, an assist, and three steals. Goalie Charlie Niehaus ’18 recorded 12 saves.

“We won against Princeton because we played as a team, we were patient, and we waited for our chances,” Joksimovic said.

The win was the Bison’s fourth against a ranked opponent this season.

On Oct. 16., the Orange and Blue squared off against host team Harvard followed by Iona.

Despite a final surge in the fourth quarter where the team scored the final three goals of the game, the Bison could not overcome Harvard’s early lead. The Crimson led 7-1 by the middle of the second quarter, prompting goalie Alex Pullin ’20 to relieve Niehaus. Pullin had a career-high of six saves, but Harvard held strong to secure the 13-11 win. In the loss the Bison drew a season-high of 16 ejections, converted four six-on-five advantages, and had two penalty shots.

The Orange and Blue finished the tournament with a dominant win over unranked Iona, with a final score of 23-6. It was the team’s third game this season surmounting the 20-goal mark. Joksimovic again led the offense with 12 goals, tying him for second on the program all-time list for goals scored in one game. Nate Hunter ’17 added three goals, while Sean Daley ’17 tallied two. The Bison outscored Iona 11-0 in the second half of play.

Niehaus bounced back from a disappointing performance against Harvard with 14 saves against Iona. Joksimovic and Daley led the defensive effort with three steals each.

The Bison will travel to California to compete in four games at the Santa Clara Rodeo Oct. 22-23 as they move closer to Patriot League conference play.