NEWBERG, Ore. – The McKendree University club men's water polo team opened up play here Friday in the 2022 Men's National Collegiate Club Championships hosted by Oregon State University at the Chehalem Aquatic and Fitness Center outscored the United States Military Academy (Army) 7-4 in the second half en route to earning a 16-11 first round win over the 16th-ranked and 11th-seeded Cadets.
McKendree, who is 12th ranked and seeded sixth in this year's championships, advances to a quarterfinal match-up on Saturday, Nov. 12 at 12:30 p.m. Pacific against Division III No. 1 ranked and No. 3 seeded WashU. WashU earned its spot in the quarterfinals following its 16-11 first round win Friday over 14th-seeded Alabama.
The game was close early on as neither team was able to lead by more than a goal until junior center
CJ Brushwood (Gresham, Ore./Sam Barlow) and graduate student utility player
Michael Rojas (Cali, Colombia/Salem University) scored an even-strength and man-up goal within 38 seconds of each other to close out the second quarter and give the Bearcats a 9-7 halftime lead.
Graduate student utility player
Uros Pelemis (Belgrade, Serbia/Fresno Pacific) gave the Bearcats a 10-7 lead following his goal with 4:17 left in the third period. Army, though, would score the final two goals of the third quarter to cut McKendree's lead to 10-9 heading into the fourth period.
The Cadets, who fall into the consolation bracket with the loss, tied the game at 10-all following a goal by Jordan Corpuz just 30 seconds into the final period.
After McKendree retook the lead on a goal by Rojas with 6:16 left in the period, Army would once again tie the game at 11-all following a goal by Robert Demont with 5:41 remaining.
The Bearcats, who are now guaranteed a Top 8 finish in the 16-team event, would close the game by scoring five straight goals to seal its five-goal victory. The flurry of goals began at the five minute mark with a man-up goal by Pelemis, before Rojas (4:00), Brushwood (3:31, 1:14) and junior attacker
Vlad Puskovitch (West Chester, Pa./The Episcopal Academy) (2:21).
Rojas led the way offensively for McKendree (8-1 on the season) with six goals and added an assist and six steals on defense.
In addition to Rojas, Brushwood and Pelemis each scored four goals, while Puskovitch and sophomore attacker
Luke Schmidt (St. Louis, Mo./Oakville) added the other two goals in the win.
Puskovitch had four of McKendree's 11 assists, while Pelemis and sophomore goalie
Benton Fonner each had two assists in the win.
Defensively, McKendree had 12 steals in the game as along with Rojas' six steals, Brushwood added three.
Fonner was strong in the cage for the Bearcats as he allowed 11 goals, but finished with 11 saves, two assists and one steal in the victory.
Army was paced by four goals from Daniel Reimchen, while Wesley Baca added three goals.
Mason Calbert took the loss in the cage for the Cadets as he recorded 13 saves but allowed 16 goals.
| Teams |
1st Q |
2nd Q |
3rd Q |
4th Q |
FINAL |
| No. 16 Army |
4 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
11 |
|
| No. 12 McKendree |
5 |
4 |
1 |
6 |
16 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| McKendree Goals: |
Michael Rojas (6); CJ Brushwood (4); Uros Pelemis (4); Vlad Puskovitch; Luke Schmidt |
| Army Goals: |
Daniel Reimchen (4); Wesley Baca (3); Jorden Corpuz; Max Orlowski; Arthur Velishka; Robert Demont |
| Saves: |
McKendree – Benton Fonner (11) ; Army – Mason Calbert (13) |
| Exclusions: |
McKendree – 5 ; Army -10 |
| Advantage Opportunities: |
McKendree – 3-for-10 ; Army – 1-for-5 |
| Sprints: |
McKendree – 0-for-4; Army – 4-for-4 |
| Cards/Misconducts: |
None |
| Officials: |
Gene Gill, Mark Seidemann |
