(ANNAPOLIS, MD., Sept. 4) – McKendree University men's water polo team played three games on Sunday at the Navy Open, falling to Cerritos College, Navy 'B', and Fordham University.
 
The Bearcats opened up the day at 8 AM EST against Cerritos College, who won all three of their matches on Saturday. The men gave Cerritos a tough game, but were edged by the Falcons by a score of 14-11. During the first quarter McKendree went down two early, but fought back and took a 3-2 lead at the three-minute mark with a goal by Michael Krause (St. Louis, MO/Saint Louis University High School). With McKendree a man down, the Falcons would end up tying the game up 25 seconds before the end of the first quarter, making the score 3-3. At the start of the second quarter the Bearcats went down two goals early again, but two goals from Joseph Mahan (Corinth, TX/John H Guyer High School) on the counter attack would tie it back up at 5-5 with just under four minutes left before the half. Cerritos would add another three goals to the Bearcats one, rounding out the half with the Falcons up 8-6. In the third quarter Krause and Mahan would both add another goal each, but Cerritos would tack on another three goals making the score 11-8. Mahan would add another two markers in the final quarter along with one from Robert Esson (Huntington Beach, CA/Huntington Beach High School). However, the Falcons would match McKendree's effort with three tallies of their own and would close out the game with a final score of 14-11.
 
Mahan had an incredible game, scoring six goals on eight shots, as well as having four steals, an assist, a drawn exclusion foul, and three new 30's on the shot clock. Krause also had a big game with two goals on four shots, one steal, and two exclusion fouls drawn.
 
Starting in the cage, was Marko Vucetic (Belgrade, Serbia/Redstar Academy) who played the first half totaling four blocks a steal. Guarding the cage for the second half was Arthur Larson (St. Louis, MO/Saint Louis University High School), who registered six blocks of his own.
 
"The team played well and is showing a lot of improvement. Cerritos is a team with a lot of talent and experience. We did well and played tough against a very physical team" said coach Gregg Emde.
 
During the second game of the day, the Bearcats faced off against the Navy 'B' squad at 11:40 AM EST. The first half of the game was played by the Navy 'A' team's starters garnering a very tough start for McKendree. The Bearcats struggled to score against the enhanced Navy 'B' team falling 4-0 after the first quarter. In the second quarter, the Bearcats found their way into the net with 17 seconds left. Alex Nicholas (Rolling Meadows, IL/Fremd High School) would get the marker while McKendree was a man up. However, the Bearcats would finish the half down 8-1. Starting the third quarter, were the regular Navy 'B' players against a very tired Bearcats team. Mahan and Krause would add another two goals each for McKendree before the game's end, but that wouldn't prove to be enough. The Bearcats ended up falling 13-5 to a very strong Navy team.
 
Again, McKendree received a strong performance from Mahan and Krause, who each put two past the Navy goalkeeper along with two steals. Luc Gregory (Laguna Beach, CA/Laguna Beach High School) had a team high six shots in the game, but had trouble finding the back of the net against the Navy goalkeepers. Gregory also notched an assist and drew an exclusion foul.
 
Starting off this game in the cage again, Vucetic registered six blocks, two steals, and an assist. Larson came into the game after the first half also notching six blocks. Late in the fourth quarter, Larson blocked a penalty shot which lead to a counter strike by Krause. "The goalies, first Marko then Arthur, were stellar in goal and kept the Midshipmen looking for ways to score," said coach Emde.
 
"The game against Navy was against the B squad, but they included a lot of time from their A team's starting line. The big difference was their experience," said Emde.
 
McKendree's final game of the day came against the Fordham University Rams at 2 PM EST. A tired Bearcats squad struggled to find the back of the net during the first quarter, closing it out down 8-0. Mahan found a way to beat the Ram's goalie at the 4:39 mark of the second quarter but were still outscored 2-1 by Fordham in the quarter. The Bearcats closed out the half down 10-1. After regrouping during half-time, McKendree came out strong in the third quarter with goals coming from Gregory and Jackson Smith (McHenry, IL/McHenry West High School). The Bearcats won the third quarter by a score of 2-1, but were still down 11-3 in the game. Mahan and Gregory both had a huge fourth quarter finding the back of the net a combined five times, Mahan having three and Gregory with two. However, the Bearcats couldn't make any ground on the lead with the Rams also netting five goals in the fourth quarter. The tired McKendree squad fought hard to come back, but ultimately fell short and were handed a 16-8 loss.
 
Gregory had an impressive game notching two natural goals and one man up goal on his four shots. He also had an assist, one steal, and three drawn exclusion fouls. Mahan had another stellar game topping off the day with four goals on nine shots as well as two steals, three drawn exclusion fouls, and an assist. Smith also found the back of the net and recorded one steal.
 
Vucetic and Larson split this game as well, with Larson starting out in goal notching two blocks. Vucetic played the second half registering 3 blocks, including and outstanding one from the 5-meter mark in the fourth quarter.   
 
"Overall, I am very happy with the way that the boys played. Being all new to college water polo, there was a lot of learning that took place this weekend. I know that everyone wanted more wins, but the experience against the top teams was good for us. Many compliments from other coaches on the team and for that we are proud!" said coach Emde.
 
The Bearcats return home and will be looking to regroup and come out strong next weekend, where they will play four games at Washington University in St. Louis, MO.  Saturday, September 10, the Bearcats will take on the likes of Saint Louis University (9:30 AM), Missouri S&T (4:30 PM), and Mizzou (8:30 PM). Along with a single game on Sunday against Washington University (10:45 AM). Make sure to come out and cheer the McKendree men's water polo team on to victory!