(WASHINGTON, Penn., Sept. 25) – The McKendree University men's water polo team was defeated by Gannon University by a score of 20-9 but rebounded to take a 17-15 victory over Penn State-Behrend.
 
Friday the Bearcats went 1-2 in Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) play, earning a 18-15 victory over Washington & Jefferson College, but falling to both La Salle University 12-7, and Connecticut College 18-15. McKendree moves to 2-3 on the weekend, and 3-7 overall.
 
GAME ONE: McKendree 9 – Gannon 20
 
The Bearcats took on MAWPC opponent Gannon University on Saturday morning with a 10:30 a.m. EST start time. Gannon opened the scoring in the contest, but the Bearcats answered just 20 seconds later on a shot by sophomore attacker Luc Gregory (Laguna Beach, CA/Laguna Beach High School). The Golden Knights were able to add four more goals before McKendree could respond. The response came from sophomore attacker Izaya Owotor (Portland, OR/David Douglas High School). Gannon added one more goal before the close of the first quarter to take a 5-3 lead.
 
The Golden Knights were able to add five goals in the second quarter while holding the Bearcats scoreless to hold a 10-3 lead at halftime. Owotor opened the scoring in the third quarter on a shot that beat Gannon's goaltender. The Golden Kinghts were quick to answer back scoring just six seconds later. However, McKendree sophomore attacker Joseph Mahan (Corinth, TX/John H Guyer High School) scored just 30 seconds later to make the score 11-5 in favor of Gannon. The Golden Knights were able to score three more before the Bearcats had an answer. Mahan answered for the Bearcats, closing out the quarter with a score of 14-7.
 
McKendree opened the scoring in the fourth quarter on a goal from freshman utility player Abraham Allen (Webster Groves, MO). The Golden Knights found the back of the net for six unanswered goals before the Bearcats could respond. McKendree's response came as a buzzer beater on a shot by freshman attacker Alex Portnoy (St. Louis, MO/University City ).
 
Sophomore goaltenders Anthony Murat (Chicago, IL/Buffalo Grove High School) and Marko Vucetic (Belgrade, Serbia/Redstar Academy) split time in the cage registering nine saves between the two. Mahan fired 10 shots on goal scoring three goals in the game, with Owotor launching six shots scoring twice.
 
GAME TWO: McKendree 17 – Penn State-Behrend 15
 
In the Bearcats only non-conference game of the weekend, McKendree played against Penn State-Behrend on Saturday at 2:15 p.m. The Bearcats grabbed an early 4-0 lead in the first quarter with goals coming from sophomore attacker Daniel Peralta (Lakewood, CA/Lakewood High School), Mahan, sophomore attacker Michael Krause (St. Louis, MO/Saint Louis University High School), and Owotor. The Lions answered back with two goals to cut the lead to two. However, McKendree bounced back and netted two goals of its own to take a 6-2 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Bearcats goals came from Mahan and sophomore attacker Jackson Smith (McHenry, IL/McHenry West High School).
 
Penn State-Behrend struck first in the second quarter, finding the back of the net twice before McKendree answered. The Bearcats answer came from Allen, who beat the Lions goaltender to give McKendree the 7-4 lead. The Lions responded 20 seconds later, but McKendree had an answer. The Bearcats answered with three goals coming from Gregory, Owotor, and Stewart. Penn State-Behrend added one more just before the end of the half, to close out the quarter with McKendree leading 10-6.
 
The third quarter saw back and forth action from the two teams, with the Bearcats striking first. Owotor netted his third of the game to extend McKendree's lead. The Lions found a bit of a hot streak netting three goals before the Bearcats could answer. Krause found the back of the Lions net as the teams traded goals to put the score at 12-10 in the Bearcats favor. McKendree found itself a hot streak netting three goals of its own before the close of the third quarter. McKendree's goals came from Gregory, Mahan, and freshman defender Brandon Kavanaugh (Hawthorn Woods, IL/Mundelein Cons. High School). The Bearcats held a 15-10 lead over the Lions heading into the final quarter.
 
McKendree was outscored 5-2 in the final quarter, but held on to take a 17-15 victory over Penn State-Behrend. Owotor netted both goals for the Bearcats in the final frame.