IRVINE, Calif. - The men's water polo team ran out of gas in the second half of play against Westcliff University in non-conference action on Thursday, October 3rd at the William Woollett Jr. Aquatics Center in Irvine, California.
Score: McKendree University 12, Westcliff University 19
Record: Bearcats 0-7, 0-0 WWPA | Warriors 4-9, 0-0 NAIA
HOW IT HAPPENED
Looking to snatch their first official win of the season, Mckendree did not get off to their best start, as Westcliff connected on the first two goals of the game with graduate Manuel Augusto (Cascais, Portugal) drawing first blood 1:50 in. Junior Riccardo Vettore (Padova, Italy) put the Bearcats on the board by slinging one in. Graduate Aleksa Sisakovic (Belgrade, Serbia) would answer right back with a goal of his own for the Warriors and build on the lead. McKendree would try to inch closer with junior James Ramey (St. Louis, Mo.) and freshman Joshua Gibson (Nassau, Bahamas) each notching in a goal in the final minutes of the first quarter, ended up tying the game 3-3.
It was not a better quarter in period number two for the Bearcats, as Augusto would open up with a goal again for Westcliff. Sophomore Isaac Demski (Eastvale, Calif.) would halt what would be a significant run by the Warriors as he snuck one in, trying to keep his team afloat. Westcliff would tack on three straight from there in a row, building the lead to three. Vettore would be of presence again, along with senior Alex Napawan (St. Louis, Mo.) connecting on two more goals and trimming the lead once more. Yet, the Warriors would not be denied of their game plan, as Augusto would get his third goal, earning him a hat-trick along with another goal from Sisakovic to end the first half with the lead 9-6.
Coming out of halftime, Vettore earned himself a hat-trick as well by scoring right out of the gates 29 seconds into the third quarter. However, the trend would continue in Westcliff's favor, as Augusto remained on fire in the waters, scoring back-to-back goals. The flames were put out by Gibson, trying to keep his team alive on the road by contributing his second goal. After, Sisakovic and sophomore Adam Hodi (Miskolc, Hungary) helped the Warriors put in another couple of goals to up the lead. In the final 30 seconds of the period, the Ramey-Gibson duo was in effect again, each striking another goal and building their team's momentum as they still trailed 13-10.
In a most crucial situation, McKendree needed to make the final quarter count. They had that momentarily as freshman Noah Schott (St. Louis, Mo.) scored his first career goal to open up the fourth period of play. Being caught by surprise, Westcliff would explode shortly after, notching in six straight goals on the Bearcats with Augusto still leaving his mark with three of those scoring possessions. With 1:10 left of regulation, senior Jespyn Bishop (Brighton, Colo.) struck one in for his squad, but it would not be enough as the Warriors came away with the win 19-12.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
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Augusto was considered the player of the game, as he led Westcliff to their fourth win of the season by contributing eight goals on 10 shot attempts. Sisakovic had a solid performance as well, going 4-4 on shot attempts as his performance.
UP NEXT
McKendree will be back in the pool tomorrow on Friday, October 4th, when they begin competing in the Gary Troyer Tournament with the first matchup being against Loyola Marymount University at 12:20 PM PDT. The second game of the day will be versus Concordia University Irvine at 4:20 PM PDT as an official non-conference matchup. Both games on Friday will be held at the Axelrood Pool in Claremont, California.
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