Back to Back: St. Francis wins Play-in Match, Advances to 2nd Straight NCAA Final Four

As the result of a dramatic 6-5 victory yesterday over UC San Diego in a play-in game for the 2013 NCAA Men’s Water Polo Championship, St. Francis Brooklyn will reprise one of the most memorable match-ups in program history when they take on the top-seeded Trojans of USC in a Final Four semifinal tomorrow at 4 p.m. EST in Stanford’s Avery Aquatic Center.

The winner of St. Francis (23-10) vs. USC (26-4) will play either No. 2 University of the Pacific (22-4) or host No. 3 Stanford (22-5) — contestants in tomorrow’s second match — on Sunday at 6 p.m. for the 2013 title.

The Terriers and Trojans know each other well. In a 2010 NCAA semi-final match, unheralded St. Francis pushed favored USC to the limit, dropping a 10-7 decision to the eventual NCAA champions.

The Terriers’ performance three years ago not only elevated St. Francis into the upper echelon of Division 1 water polo programs, it was also a coming out party for goalie Igor Mladenovic. A freshman in his first NCAA championship and a surprise starter in goal that day, Mladenovic stopped 17 Trojan shots as the Terriers made a bid to become the first Eastern team to advance to a championship final.

Mladenovic is now a senior, but the party has not yet ended for him: he’s still at his best just when his team needs it most.

In yesterday’s match Mladenovic made 10 saves including two first-half penalty shots that St. Francis Head Coach Srdjan Mihaljevic described as “demoralizing” for the UCSD Tritons. SFC freshman phenom Ilija Djuretic contributed a hat trick as the Terriers rallied from an early 2-0 deficit.

With St. Francis winning for the eighth straight time, it’s clear that Mihaljevic has his team facing USC at the best possible moment. According to Ed Hass, Director of Communications for the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA), eastern water polo’s governing body, the Terriers “have a puncher’s chance against the Trojans” because of their All-American goalie and an ability to play well in big spots.

“St. Francis-vs-USC will be closer than people think,” said Haas, who has been at the CWPA since 2006. “Both teams are extremely talented, and St. Francis has a history of playing up to the level of their competition in championship events.”

According to Haas, the Terriers’ win over the Tritons also has great significance for this coast’s water polo programs. For the first time, a team from the East won an opening round match in the NCAA tournament.

“The fact that St. Francis College defeated UC San Diego is huge for the Collegiate Water Polo Association,” said Haas. “A first round win by the CWPA champion against the WWPA champion proves that East Coast water polo is on par with the majority of the game on the West Coast.”

Terrier coach Mihaljevic is realistic about his team’s chances to beat a Trojan squad that is not only seeking to extend its NCAA record streak of championships to six, but also pined a decisive 13-4 defeat on St. Francis in early October.

“It’s American to talk about: ‘how we’re gonna beat that team,’” said Mihaljevic, a native of Croatia. “Clearly, nobody plays to lose.”

“It’s a bit foreign for people to hear [this], but we will have to get lucky,” to beat USC, continued Mihaljevic, the Terriers’ first-year coach who has been associated with St. Francis water polo since arriving as a freshman in 1997. “If you have a 10-game series, USC is going to win every single time. But, if it’s one game, and if our game comes on Saturday, then we are going to play for victory and play the game as well as we can.”

For St. Francis to have a chance, Mladenovic — who is playing as well as any goalie in the country — will have to come up with a superb performance. But Mihaljevic believes that all the Terriers need to step up to upset the Trojans, who will not be caught by surprise.

“USC is the best that American collegiate water polo has to offer so if we want to play with them on that level, multiple players will have to come up big.”

Trojan Head Coach Jovan Vavic, whose men’s and women’s teams have more NCAA titles (12) than he has fingers, was complimentary when asked about his upcoming opponent. “Big win today vs. UCSD,” said Vavic. “We are looking forward to a tough match. SFC has one of the best goalies in the country and I have lots of respect for their WP [water polo] program.”

For goalie Mladenovic, now is the time to end his collegiate career with a memorable performance.

“We owe USC a victory from 2010,” said Mladenovic, appearing in an NCAA championship for the third time in his SFC career and second year in a row. “They are the strongest team in the country… [but] we want to surprise them on Saturday.”

Then, with a line that every Terrier fan wants to believe, Mladenovic added that “everything is possible in the Final Four.”

Media Note:
2013 NCAA Men’s Water Polo Championship semifinals, third place game and championship tilt will be streamed on Saturday-Sunday, December 7-8 at NCAAsports.com