The No. 13 Massachusetts men’s water polo team enjoyed a very successful weekend in Princeton, N.J. at the North/South Classic. Victories over George Washington, Bucknell and Navy helped the Maroon and White to a 3-1 mark, with the loss coming to 12th-ranked Princeton in a tough overtime battle.

In the first game of the weekend tourney, the Minutemen [14-2] dominated George Washington, 14-3. Junior Ricardo Puig led the scoring with three goals, and seniors Mike Foley, Carlos Ramos and junior Andre Nyce each contributed two goals to the victory.

In the second game against Bucknell, the story was about the same, with different characters chipping in for the final score of 14-5. Foley again found the net twice, as did senior Adam Moore, junior Justin Houck and freshman Adam Zobler.

The Saturday evening game was a fierce battle between two ranked teams. Scoring was minimal throughout regulation time, with three goals to each team in the first period and two each in the third, sending the game into OT. In the extra set, Princeton edged the Minutemen 2-1 to make the final score 7-6.

“We followed the game plan well, but it’s early in the season, and in overtime we couldn’t put the rock in the net,” said Head Coach Russ Yarworth, disappointed in the final result but still content overall with the weekend. “We played the first two games according to plan, and I’m pleased with our progress defensively.”

The Maroon and White showed plenty of resilience in bouncing back from the Princeton loss, defeating Navy 7-4 on Sunday. Goalie J.R. VanderWall was solid with 14 saves, bringing him to 33 saves in the 13 periods the Minutemen played on the weekend. After what Coach Yarworth called “a momentary lapse” in which the Midshipmen netted two goals in rapid fashion to tie the game at 4-4, UMass took over in the fourth quarter and scored three to get the win. Senior Greg Trayer scored two in the effort, and Moore also chipped in with a goal and two assists.

Yarworth highlighted the play of sophomore Tim Craycraft, who he said, “started the counter-attack that led to [Junior] Justin [Houck]’s winning goal.” The coach was also happy that he was able to get some time for the bench players.

“It was nice to get some of the other kids a chance to get in the water,” Yarworth said.

Up next for the squad are league opponents Iona, Queens and Brown in Providence, R.I. next weekend. Yarworth tabbed the Queens game as being crucial to the season, saying that the upcoming league games are of “paramount importance.”

UMass faces Iona and Queens on Saturday, and raps up the weekend with Brown on Sunday.