No. 20 Bears Engineer Overtime Victory Against MIT, 12-11

Sept. 16, 2006

Colorado Springs, CO - After losing hold of a match that it could have taken in regulation, the No. 20 Brown men's water polo team (3-1) recovered in overtime to defeat MIT (2-6) 12-11 at the Air Force Invitational Saturday evening.

After several potentially devastating rallies by the Engineers, the Bears finally put their opponents away with under a minute to play in the second overtime period. Junior Gerrit Adams (Winnetka, IL) drew an ejection to give Brown a six-on-five advantage with 43 seconds remaining. Freshman Zach Levko (Wildwood, MO) capitalized 22 seconds later, giving his team the 12-11 victory.

MIT first gave Brown a scare after Levko's first goal put the Bears up 6-3 with under a minute left in the third quarter. However, with a four-goal stretch that ended with 6:09 remaining in the fourth quarter, MIT took the lead for the first time. The teams traded goals until Sophomore Nico Fort (Miami, FL) put Brown up 9-8 with 2:01 remaining, but MIT sent the game to overtime by scoring with 40 seconds left.

In the first three-minute overtime period, sophomore Grant LeBeau (San Diego, CA) scored twice, once on a penalty shot. MIT answered back with two goals in the second extra frame before Levko's game-winner.

Sophomore Hank Weintraub (Los Angeles, CA) and LeBeau led Brown with three goals each. Weintraub also had team-highs with three assists and four steals. Senior co-captain Luke Samson (Miami, FL) and Levko each had two goals, with Adams and Fort each adding one.

Sunday, Brown will face the tournament's hosts, No. 18 Air Force, and the University of La Verne.