PALO ALTO, Calif. — Sam Keightley scored the game-winning goal with one second left, capping a furious fourth-quarter rally that lifted the No. 11 San José State men's water polo team (5-3, 0-0 WCC) past No. 8 Princeton (8-1, 0-0 NWPC) 14-12, on day one of the MPSF Invite on Friday afternoon.
The MPSF Invite is a win and advance style bracket featuring 16 teams seeded one through 16. In the tournament, SJSU was the No. 10 seed while Princeton was the No. 7 seed.
The Spartans trailed for most of the afternoon, falling behind 5-4 after the first quarter and 7-5. San José State clawed back in the third, with Samu Biros and a pair of goals from Sam Keightley keeping pace before Aron Sárfalvi's equalizer tied it at 10-10, but the Tigers answered right back to lead 11-10 heading into the fourth.
Louis Fehrensen tied the game at 11-11, then struck again moments later to give the Spartans their first lead of the game. Mitchell Keightley followed with a goal of his own to make it 13-11, and after Princeton cut the deficit to one, Sam Keightley sealed the win with a buzzer-beating goal in the final second, sending San José State to a 14-12 victory.
- Sam Keightley led the Spartans with three goals and added two assists.
- Giancarlo Marquez, Fehrensen, Biros and Sárfalvi each scored twice, while Mitchell Keightley, Mateja Cetkovic and Aidan Johnson each added a goal.
- Sárfalvi paced the offense with three assists, while Mitchell Keightley and Sam Keightley each dished out two, and Fehrensen and Johnson added one apiece.
- Sam Keightley also set the tone defensively, drawing a team-high four exclusions.
- Alexey Poletaev turned away five shots in net to earn the win.
UP NEXT: The Spartans continue MPSF Invite play against No. 2 USC at 10:40 a.m. Saturday at Avery Aquatic Center.
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