It’s almost wintertime here in Amherst. It’s almost time to pack up everything that won’t protect you from sub-zero temperatures. It’s almost time to pull out the parkas, the wool hats, the mittens, and the holiday paraphernalia.

Almost.

Don’t let the weather fool you. There are still sports from the fall season that aren’t quite ready to call it a year just yet. The Massachusetts men’s water polo team is one of those, and will attempt to slow down the clock and spend a few more moments in a warmer climate this weekend, when it heads to Princeton, N.J. to compete for the Eastern NCAA Championship.

A title this weekend would mean an automatic berth in the NCAA Championship tournament, which takes place two weeks from now in sunny California. But first, the Minutemen will have to pull out victories against their two top foes of this season.

Princeton, which captured the Southern Championship two weeks ago, handed UMass one of only three regular season losses in a tough overtime battle, and will be its first opponent, on Saturday at 10 a.m.

Looking at the matchup with the Tigers, Head Coach Russ Yarworth expects “a real struggle to start off with.” Yarworth also highlighted the importance of containing Princeton’s top three, senior Marshall Roslyn and juniors Kevin Foster and Robert Urquhart. Senior goaltender Mike Pharris has also starred for Princeton, but Yarworth is confident that the Minutemen will be victorious.

“We know we can win if we do what we have to do,” Yarworth said.

If the Maroon and White prevails over the Tigers, it’s most likely that they will see the Terriers of St. Francis, who Yarworth calls “a real scary team. They have a higher talent level than any other team at the tournament.” UMass went 3-1 against the Terriers this season, with the lone loss coming only a few weeks ago. St. Francis, like UMass, has had its share of players earn Collegiate Water Polo Association Player of the Week honors.

UMass is coming off of a tough defeat at the hands of Harvard in the CWPA Northern Division final. The Maroon and White, which was spelled by injuries to seniors Carlos Ramos and Mike Foley, as well as the absence of senior Greg Trayer, who was attending to family matters, couldn’t find the scoring touch, and lost to the Crimson, 6-5.

The Minutemen will also look to senior netminder J.R. VanderWall to continue the type of play that kept UMass in every game this season.

Also involved in this weekend’s action are Bucknell, Queens College, the U.S. Naval Academy, Johns Hopkins, and Harvard. The Maroon and White’s likely opponents, should it advance past St. Francis and Princeton, are Navy or Queens.

Yarworth said that Navy and Queens “are both solid programs. [Navy] has that military attitude and a really good structure, which we’ll have to try to break.”

“We’ve got a great group of kids,” said Yarworth, “and we just have to use our game plan.”

One speed bump for the Minutemen will be the dimensions of the Princeton pool. UMass has played in pools that are smaller than regulation on average, including its home pool at Amherst College.

However, minus a few bumps and bruises, the whole roster has a clean bill of health, which will make playing the giants of the East a little easier.

So don’t let the harsh Amherst winter get you down. There’s still one UMass team that could have a few more tricks up its sleeve.