The Brunswick School water polo team is in uncharted territory this season, and that’s perfectly fine for head coach Eric Tillman and his coaching staff.
This season, more pressure is on the Bruins than ever, after dominating the competition last season en route to the school’s first-ever New England Prep School Water Polo championship.
“High school sports is always fun because you’re always reinventing the team every year,” Tillman said. “I often say that the pro guys should spend time in high school, where they have learn to look at what they’ve got and make a team. We have a great group of kids. They are really good and are working really hard. I am psyched to be working with these guys.”
While the Bruins have caught the eye of water polo teams throughout New England, the feeling this year is different because Brunswick has the New England Prep School Water Polo trophy to defend. Despite the added pressure, Tillman said his team is as calm as ever.
“I don’t think they feel a lot of pressure,” Tillman said. “We won last year and our expectation this year is to just make it to the tournament. If that doesn’t happen, then they will be upset. But I think our goal is to make it to the tournament and do our best. We should make it to the tournament. They are smart and we have several new kids that are just water polo players. The water polo I.Q. on the team is very high. We will do well.”
One of the reasons why the Bruins are confident is due to a talented and valuable member of the coaching staff, Ulmis Iorache.
“Ulmis has done a wonderful job,” Tillman said. “I’m like Brian Cashman. I make everything else happen, so that way Ulmis can do the water polo. And he is really good at what he does. He looked at what we had as a team and designed the offense and defense to fit the talent that we have. That’s what a veteran coach does.”
And the work that Iorache has put into the program this year has already shown. During last weekend at the Deerfield tournament, Brunswick had to play back-to-back games and then a fresh Deerfield team played the Bruins in the second game. Despite the odds, Brunswick still dominated.
“We still outswam them,” Tillman said. “They were gassed. It was nice, because our kids train really hard and saw the results of all that hard work. Ulmis had the kids ready, and so did one of our captains, Pat Stefano. Nobody works harder than Pat and you have to work to keep up with Pat. He pulls everybody with him.”
Stefano will be back after a highly successful season last year. During his junior campaign last season, he led the team with 64 goals, had 41 shots on net, and was second on the team with 13 assists.
Another senior captain is Jack Muccia, who finished with 12 goals, two assists and three steals last season. This year Tillman will be relying on his strength and defensive ability to guide the team. The third captain is senior Lucas Bell, who Tillman said provides the team with its energy and knows what it takes to get the team going.
“They are a good crew that knows how to get the best out of the team,” Tillman said. “They work well together and are determined to help this team have another successful season.”
A mainstay on the team is goalie Charlie Pang, a junior. Last year, seeing the majority of the playing time in the pool, Pang made 116 saves and gave up only 72 goals. He also added 12 steals and 12 assists.
“He has tremendously strong legs and has played a lot of games on the national level,” Tillman said. “He’s seen a lot of stuff and doesn’t get rattled. He doesn’t let a goal bother him. He just gets the ball out of the net and is ready to start play again. A lot of goals go in when it comes to water polo and you can’t let that bother you. The team loves having him back there because they know they could extend a little bit because Charlie can make the stop and delivers outlet passes to where they are supposed to be.
Pang will be sending those outlet passes mainly to Stefanou, because he knows how to lead and get the play moving. Joining Stefanou and getting some of the passes will be Thacher Scannell, a sophomore. Last year Scannell led the team with 46 steals and added 14 goals and 11 assists. Freshman Nico Apostolides will be another target for Pang.
“We can fast break, but we don’t have to,” Tillman said. “Ulmis taught these guys to settle the offense first and then we’ll see what we have. We have to be patient at times. Thacher and Nico are really smart players. They don’t score often, but they put the ball exactly where it’s supposed to be and also play tenacious defense.”
In addition to Stefanou, junior Will Marvin will be a goal scoring threat. Last season Marvin tied Alex Prout with 42 goals, the second most goals scored on the team. In addition, Marvin was second on the team with 39 steals. Joining Marvin will be Simon Derby, who finished with 31 goals, 24 steals and 13 assists last season.
Another scorer will be freshman Will Prout.
“We are doing really well on offense,” Tillman said. “You can’t shut down one guy on this team. Last year teams tried to close down Pat [Stefano] and we just went to another scorer. We can definitely do that again this year if teams try to stop Pat.”
Last weekend, Brunswick opened their defense of the NEPSWP title by blasting Deerfield Academy 9-2 in a rematch of the 2014 championship game.
Brunswick held Deerfield Academy to four total shots. Derby led the scoring for the Bruins with four goals and one assist, while Stefanou had two goals and two assists. Marvin also had two goals and Muccia had one goal. Pang had two saves.
In its other game on Saturday, Brunswick also defeated Williston Northampton School, 18-10. Nine different players scored in that game.
Prout led all scorers with four goals, while Derby added three goals and one assist. This week is a big test for Brunswick. On Thursday the Bruins host cross-town rival and perennial power Greenwich High School. Two days later it’s a battle against NEPSAC rivals Andover and Exeter.
“That will be a huge test for us,” Tillman said. “Last year we beat both teams and scored lots of goals on Exeter. They were our benchmark last year. The same thing will happen this year. They will be our benchmark. Andover has a new coach and he’s a real water polo guy. He has that program moving in the right direction.”
