LEBANON, Ill. – The McKendree men's water polo team returns to Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) play this weekend as they play three games at the MAWPC Conference Weekend hosted by Salem University and held at the Mylan Park Aquatic Center in Morgantown, W.Va.
The Bearcats (2-11 overall, 0-4 MAWPC) opened the weekend at Mylan Park Aquatic Center on Saturday, Oct. 8 with a 12 p.m. ET game against 18th-ranked Fordham, before facing Wagner College on Oct. 8 at 5:20 p.m. ET and then concluding the weekend with an 11:40 a.m. ET game on Sunday, Oct. 0 against the United States Naval Academy.
This will be the second of three MAWPC conference weekend events this season for the Bearcats as McKendree will host a conference weekend event on Nov. 5-6 at the McKendree Metro Rec Plex in O'Fallon, Ill.
LAST TIME OUT RECAP
McKendree heads into this weekend's MAWPC conference weekend sporting a 2-11 overall record after going 0-4 at last weekend's Gary Troyer Invitational held in and around the Los Angeles, Calif., area. At the event, the Bearcats fell 19-11 to Biola, 18-10 to Westcliff, 15-7 to Cal Lutheran and 15-11 to Ottawa (Ariz.).
At the Gary Troyer Invitational, graduate student attacker
Josh Carlson (New Lenox, Ill./Lincoln-Way West) led the way offensively with 10 goals, two assists, five exclusions and three steals for the Bearcats. In addition to Carlson, fifth-year senior attacker
Nico Rodriguez (Bogota, Colombia/Oviedo) led the Bearcats in points with 14 thanks for seven goals and seven assists and had six exclusions and two steals, while freshman center/utility player
Cale Koester (New Lenox, Ill./Lincoln-Way Central) added six points with four goals and two assists and had four exclusions.
Junior goalkeeper
Jimmy Cronin (Naperville, Ill./Metea Valley) played all but 16 minutes in goal on the weekend and made 36 saves and had six steals for the four games.
SCOUTING FORDHAM
Fordham, who is ranked 18th in this week's Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Men's Varsity National Top 20 poll, sporting a 10-6 overall record and the Rams have won two straight games since losing three games to open play at the MPSF Invitational on Sept. 23-24. Fordham's most recent win came last Thursday with a 14-9 home win over Wagner.
Sophomores George Papanikolaou and Jacopo Parrella are the top two point scorers for the Rams on the season as Papanikolaou leads the way with 65 points thanks to 28 goals and 37 assists, while Parrella has a team-best 34 goals and also has had 25 assists. The No. 3 goal scorer for Fordham this season is Balazs Berenyi, who has tallied 26 goals and 20 steals on the year. Thomas Lercari has been the primary goalie this season for the Rams, including recording 12 saves in their latest win over Wagner.
Saturday's meeting will be the second meeting all-time between the two schools as Fordham picked up a 16-8 win in Annapolis, Md., on Sept. 4, 2016.
SCOUTING WAGNER
Wagner comes into the weekend sporting a 5-10 overall record and a 1-4 mark in the MAWPC. The Seahawks haven't played since picking up a 15-14 win this past Sunday at Navy. That win over Navy snapped a four-game losing skid for Wagner, which began after a 14-9 win over McKendree at the Erie Conference Crossover Weekend on Sept. 17.
Leading the way offensively for Wagner is Laszlo Strasser, who has tallied 47 points on 22 goals and 25 assists. He has also had 12 steals and 20 exclusions. In addition to Strasser, Oliver Fodor leads the team in goals scored with 24, while Mattia Bognolo has had 23 goals and Zsombor Gyemant leads in assists with 27. Kevin Roach has played 248 minutes in goal and has had 52 saves and seven steals.
Saturday's meeting with Wagner will mark the second all-time and the second this season between the two schools as the Seahawks picked up a 14-9 win in Erie, Pa., on Sept. 17.
SCOUTING NAVY
The Midshipmen enter the weekend with a 6-8 overall record and a 1-2 mark in league play. Navy has dropped two straight games and three of four overall with the lone win coming at home against Mount St. Mary's (16-13) on Sept. 27.
Leading the way for Navy is Jake Altmayer, who has had 28 points on 18 goals and 10 assists and has added six steals. In addition to Altmayer, Will Clark is next with 27 points thanks to 18 goals and nine assists and has had seven steals, while Ivan Pang has had 21 points on seven goals and 14 assists. Navy has used five goalies this season with the primary goalie being Caden Capobianco, who has made 128 saves and has a .456 save percentage on the season.
Sunday's game with Navy will be the second-ever meeting between the two teams in water polo as Navy picked up a 13-5 win over the Bearcats in Annapolis, Md., on Sept. 4, 2016.
UP NEXT FOR McKENDREE
Following this weekend's three MAWPC games in Morgantown, W.Va., the Bearcats will take a week off before competing at the CWPA Division II Championships in Erie, Pa. The seedings and pairings for the championships have yet to be announced.
