ERIE, Pa. - The men's water polo team got submerged early to Gannon University in Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) action on the opening day of the WWPA Erie Classic on Friday, October 25th, at the Hallman Aquatics Center in Erie, Pennsylvania.
Score: McKendree University 12, Gannon University 17
Record: Bearcats 0-13, 0-1 WWPA | Golden Knights 10-3, 1-0 WWPA
HOW IT HAPPENED
McKendree made the trip down east to western Pennsylvania to take part in the annual Erie Classic, hoping to clinch their first official win of the year. It was a lopsided start to the first game of the classic as the host, Gannon, would initiate the first goal by freshman Victor Volant, and was responded to by a Bearcats goal 25 seconds afterward by sophomore Yannick Robertson (Trinidad and Tobago) to tie things up one a-piece. Then, not a minute later, the Golden Knights would catch fire for the rest of the first quarter and partially through the second period, slotting the ball into the net eight straight times as Volant tacked on two more goals, giving himself the early hat-trick. Gannon freshman Nikiforos Liantziris contributed on that run, scoring the ball twice.
Trailing 9-1 with 6:36 remaining in the second quarter, sophomore Isaac Demski (Eastvale, Calif.) silenced the crowd with a goal for McKendree. 17 seconds later subsequently, the Golden Knights responded with sophomore Petar Markovic nailing one in to regain the seven-point lead. The Bearcats would finally turn on the jets as junior James Ramey (St. Louis, Mo.) tacked on a couple of shots while Robertson would get his second goal of the game to close out the first half, trailing 10-5.
Hoping for a better start, McKendree freshman sensation Joshua Gibson (Nassau, Bahamas) would help push the Bearcat scoring streak to four with his first goal of the game. Markovic would connect again for his squad who were searching to get back in rhythm. With a little over three minutes remaining in the third quarter, the trio of Demski, Robertson, and junior Quinten Gallagher (St. Louis, Mo.) each contributed a goal to cut their deficit to a narrow two points. Liantziris would cap off the third period for Gannon with a scoring possession with 30 seconds remaining to give his team the 12-9 edge.
With both sides feeling their own momentum, it was time for the final quarter of play. Volant would continue to make his mark in this game by putting in his fourth goal of the match as Gibson would connect on the other end of the pool to make things interesting. The Golden Knights would start to pull away when Markovic would squeeze in a couple for his squad on back-to-back possessions and put the lead back up to five. Ramey and Demski would tag-team as they try to make a final push against the deficit by nothing in a couple more scores in the midst of the fourth period. However, with tensions flying high in the final minutes Gannon took advantage of a couple penalty goals to seal the deal and come away with the 17-12 win.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
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Robertson was McKendree's mast impactful player in the water on Friday, scoring three goals on 10 shot attempts while also dishing out three assists, drawing two exclusions, and collecting a steal.
UP NEXT
McKendree will be back at it tomorrow on Saturday, October 26th, when they face two opponents in the WWPA Erie Classic with Salem University coming at 10:00 AM EDT and then followed by Penn State Behrend at 2:00 PM EDT. Both matches will be played at the Hallman Aquatics Center in Erie, Pennsylvania.
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