ERIE, Pa. – The men's water polo team split on the day, earning their first official win of the season against Penn State Behrend after losing to Salem University earlier in the morning on Saturday, October 26th, at the WWPA Erie Classic in Erie, Pennsylvania. 

MATCH ONE vs. Salem University

BOX SCORE 

Score: McKendree University 14, Salem University 25 

Record: Bearcats 0-14, 0-2 WWPA | Tigers 13-3, 1-0 WWPA 

HOW IT HAPPENED

On day two of the WWPA Erie Classic, McKendree opened the early morning against Salem, who were at the time 12-3 on the year. It was an eventful first quarter as the Bearcats opened up with the first goal of the game from freshman Joshua Gibson (Nassau, Bahamas), and was answered only eight seconds later by Tigers' freshman Ivan Petkovski to tie it up 1-1. Afterward, both McKendree sophomore Yannick Robertson (Trinidad and Tobago) and junior James Ramey (St. Louis, Mo.) connected on each of their shot to take an early two-point lead. That lead would not last long as Salem tacked on two more goals by senior Nikola Krstonosic and sophomore Marko Jovanovic to even the score again. Then, it was another goal from Gibson to make things interesting in the matchup. The Tigers responded with three straight scoring possessions with freshman Danko Kesic contributing on two of those. Subsequently, Robertson kept staying hot in the classic by putting in another shot as fellow Bearcat, senior Jespyn Bishop (Brighton, Colo.), snuck one in the final seconds to end the first quarter tied 6-6. 

A little slow start appeared in the second period of play, but Salem finally got on the board with Krstonosic and junior Marko Zivojinovic each netting a goal. Robertson then cut it to one but was answered by Petkovski not a minute later. A harsh foul on the Tigers sent Gibson to take a penalty shot, which he converted and gave him a hat-trick. Salem freshman Danko Kesic responded 18 seconds later with a score of his own to bring the lead back up to two. McKendree sophomore Rowan Daughtrey (Commerce City, Colo.) came in and scored his first goal since Concordia-Irvine on October 4th. The Tigers would tack on two more goals in the final two minutes to ultimately lead at the half 12-9. 

The third quarter was all back-and-forth in scoring possessions between the two conference foes, with the Bearcats having Ramey, Demski, and Robertson contributing to their three goals. Krstonosic put in two while sophomore Antonio Sablic, and senior Ivan Zivojinovic each got one for the Tigers' four goals in the period. Salem increased their lead to 16-12 at the end of the third quarter. 

In the final period of play, it was all Salem as they closed out on a 10-2 run to seal the game with Robertson and Ramey notching the two goals for the Bearcats at the 6:50 and 4:32 mark respectively. Krstonosic went on fire for the Tigers in between those two scores from McKendree, putting in three straight including one off an exclusion and one off a penalty. Salem would win the match 25-14. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS 

• McKendree was led by Robertson for a second straight day, this time going a solid 5-8 on shot attempts along with two assists and a steal. 

• Ramey also earned himself a hat-trick with three goals, while also drawing four exclusions and taking the ball away from the opposing team two times for the Bearcats. 

• Krstonosic was spectacular in Salem's win on the day, finishing with seven goals and dishing the ball out three times, also having three drawn exclusions and two takeaways. 

• Other Tigers of note were Petkovski and Kesic, with the former having an astounding five goals and six assists, while the latter had four goals and one assist with five steals. 

• Fifth-year Jimmy Cronin (Naperville, Ill.) was in the cage the entire match for McKendree, saving the ball a total of eight times. 

• For Salem, the net was shared by seniors Goncalo Silva and Duarte Costa, with both making four saves to allow seven goals to go in each as well. 

MATCH TWO vs. Penn State Behrend

BOX SCORE 

Score: McKendree University 17, Penn State Behrend 8 

Record: Bearcats 1-14, 0-2 WWPA | Lions 5-9, 4-2 MPSF 

HOW IT HAPPENED

McKendree would dive right back in a couple hours after the first match on the day, as in this game, they face the Lions of Penn State Behrend. The Bearcats could not get one into the net at all in the first quarter, as PSUB started the first minute-plus with two scores from freshman Atticus Bowman and junior Will Aikens and picked up a third one with 1:34 remaining in the period by freshman Nick Thompson to give the Lions a 3-0 lead with the first quarter ending. 

Thompson would net another one to open up the second period of play for PSUB, but with five minutes left, Demski would finally put McKendree on the board for the first time of the match by slinging one in. Soon after, Lions' senior Connor Bradley responded with a goal of his own to put his team back up to a four-point lead. Then, the table have turned to a near 180 as the Bearcats caught fire by scoring an abundant 11 straight goals from the middle of the second quarter up until the middle of the third period. Within that stretch, Robertson connected on five of those goals while Demski and Ramey each contributed two of their own. Bishop also tacked one in for the second straight game, in which the run led to the Bearcats having a monumental 12-5 lead. 

With 3:27 left in the third quarter, Thompson halted the McKendree run as he netted in his third goal of the match for the hat-trick, but the Bearcats kept their presence felt with Gibson receiving his first goal of the contest. As time was winding down, Thompson would push in yet another one for the Lions, however, Robertson was there again to clutch in his sixth goal and gave his squad a 14-7 lead heading into the final period. 

The pace slowed down for both sides in the fourth quarter. Demski and fellow teammate, junior Quinten Gallagher (St. Louis, Mo.) each punched in a goal to raise the lead some more. PSUB would get one more in from sophomore Adrian Tolcyzk before Gibson was able to answer to give McKendree their first official win on the season, beating the Lions 17-8. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS 

• Robertson has been a sensation thus far in the classic, as in this outing he earned a double hat-trick with six goals on nine shot attempts while also having a steal. 

• Demski kept his all-around game in check in the win where he came away with four goals, three assists, and two takeaways. 

• Ramey, Gallagher, and Gibson also contributed nicely for McKendree with each getting two goals inside. Ramey also picked up five steals in the match. 

• Thompson was the spotlight for PSUB, as he finished with four goals on nine shots, as he also contributed on the defensive end as well with a steal and a field block. 

• The Bearcats had two players in the cage, with one being Cronin for the majority, saving the ball 12 times with a steal. Junior Brayden Ogle came in when the team was up big, as he managed to tally up two saves in his first official action of this season. 

• On the other end for the Lions, it was junior Ethan Friedman in the net, where he finished the day a collection of 14 saves and three steals. 

UP NEXT

Mckendree will round out the WWPA Erie Classic with a showdown against Mercyhurst University tomorrow on Sunday, October 27th at 12:00 PM EDT at the Hallman Aquatics Center. 

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