The Eastern College Athletic Conference crowned 12th-ranked Massachusetts men’s water polo team its champion this weekend at Harvard University, when a three-goal comeback was capped off by a late goal from senior Evan Lutz.

In its second come-from-behind victory against St. Francis, UMass rallied from a two-goal deficit heading into the fourth quarter, and played inspiringly to beat the Terriers 9-8. The clincher came with eight seconds remaining, on what Head Coach Russ Yarworth called “the best shot of [Lutz’s] career.”

“He took one from about eight and a half meters,” Yarworth said. “It was a skipper, and it banged in off the post.”

UMass had been showing some signs of a letdown after a tremendous week, in which it won five games, including an emotional home win against Harvard on Wednesday. The defense, which had thus far been exceptional throughout the season, came out sluggish in the second half, letting five goals through in the third to give the Terriers the two-goal edge.

“We made mistakes we’re trying to avoid,” Yarworth said.

The Maroon and White began to resemble the team that it put in the water against St. Francis slightly over a week ago, when it was again down by two heading into the final session. However, UMass came out strong in the fourth and finally grabbed the lead back on Lutz’s goal. Not to be ignored was the play of senior netminder J.R. VanderWall, who made nine saves in the game for a total of 22 in the tournament.

“J.R. kept us in the games,” Yarworth said. “Especially against St. Francis.”

VanderWall, who has been brilliant throughout the season, took extra time after Wednesday’s matchup with Harvard to prepare for the Minutemen’s playoff run.

“We worked with J.R. on some technique on Thursday and Friday, and it got him refocused,” Yarworth said.

The Maroon and White also received help from a supporting cast that seems to change from match to match. Senior Mike Foley continued his excellent play with three goals in the effort, and four overall on the weekend. Also contributing were junior Chad Arnold with two and senior Carlos Ramos, who had three assists against the Terriers.

Sunday’s win was the culmination of an overall great effort from the Minutemen for the weekend. On Saturday, UMass prevailed over Bucknell 12-4, and in a rematch of a game in which Massachusetts lost in double overtime, beat Princeton by a score of 8-4.

The pair of games were relatively easy for the Minutemen, which received goals from Foley, Ramos, Trayer and senior Adam Moore.

“We were consistent,” said Yarworth of the Saturday matchups. “We put together a nice game plan.”

The Princeton matchup was especially important to the Minutemen, after their earlier meeting.

“The kids were pretty psyched up for that one,” said Yarworth.

Up next for the Minutemen is the Northern Division playoff. First up in the weekend tournament is the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, followed by Connecticut College. While neither team is a particularly prominent foe for UMass, it will be without one of its best players.

“[Greg] Trayer will be at a family wedding, and will be unavailable for the weekend,” said Yarworth.

Trayer, who has 40 goals thus far, has been an offensive keystone for the Maroon and White. This will mean a need for production from an offense that has only recently begun to generate goals with any regularity.

Trayer will also be looking to work on the setup for the offense this week. “I’m not real pleased with our counter-attack right now, so we’ll work on that, as well as perfecting the [offensive] pattern we’re looking to use,” Yarworth said.

UMass will be using the games against M.I.T. and Connecticut College to gain good standing in the Eastern Conference tournament, set to take place Nov. 17 and 18 at Princeton, New Jersey, where Yarworth expects to see Southern powerhouses Navy and Princeton.