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McKendree University Athletics

Schedule

James Ramey
Concordia University Irvine Athletics
6
McKendree MCK (2-17)
15
Winner Biola BU (11-19)
McKendree MCK
(2-17)
6
Final
15
Biola BU
(11-19)
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
McKendree MCK 1 2 2 1 6
Biola BU 3 3 4 5 15

Game Recap: Men's Water Polo | | Chase Messer, Assistant Director of Sports Information

Men’s Water Polo Defeated by Eagles in WWPA Quarterfinals

James Ramey Records Hat-Trick

IRVINE, Calif. – The men's water polo team could not keep up against red-hot Biola University in the quarterfinals of the WWPA Championship Tournament on Friday, November 22nd, at the William Woollett Jr. Aquatics Center in Irvine, California. 

Score: McKendree University 5, Biola University 16 

Record: Bearcats 2-17, 0-4 WWPA | Eagles 11-20, 2-2 WWPA 

HOW IT HAPPENED

It was not the best day in the waters for McKendree in the quarterfinal matchup. Biola junior Nick Murray started things off with a goal off an exclusion, and 14 seconds later, Bearcat junior James Ramey (St. Louis, Mo.) scored one in for his team to tie it at one a-piece. The Eagles will notch in two more goals in the final minutes of the first quarter from seniors Gavin McKenzie and John Grasso to have a steady 3-1 lead. 

A minute into the second period of play, Biola scored another one, this time from senior Nolan Rapp to extend their lead to three. Two players who have been disrupters on the defensive end in junior Riccardo Vettore (Padova, Italy) and this year's WWPA All-Freshman Team Joshua Gibson (Nassau, Bahamas) connected on back-to-back goals to pull within one. However, the Eagles would go on a huge 5-0 run that bled into the third quarter as Grasso was in for three of those five to put his team up 9-3.  

Both teams battled back-and-forth in the final three minutes of the third quarter, where Ramey would drop in his second and third goals of the game, giving him a hat-trick. Biola senior Jackson Sumwalt snuck one in-between those two scoring plays from Ramey to end the third period of play, up 10-5. 

The Eagles would pull away easily in the final quarter as they converted on five shots with each goal coming by way of a different player. McKendree's leading scorer, sophomore Yannick Robertson (St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago) put one more for his squad, but it would not be enough for the day, as the Bearcats would fall in the opening day of the tournament 6-15. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

  • Ramey led McKendree with three goals on five shot attempts for the day.  

  • Robeterson and Vettore each earned a goal and a steal in the setback. 

  • Biola's leading scorer was Grasso, whop put in five goals on 10 shots while also getting two field blocks on the defensive end. 

  • Murray, Sumwalt, and McKenzie would each finish with two goals each in their victorious day. 

  • Fifth-year Bearcat goalkeeper Jimmy Cronin (Naperville, Ill.) was in the net the entire match for the Bearcats, collecting seven saves. 

  • The Eagles had three different goalkeepers in the net, with the majority going to senior Mitchell Carpenter and junior Joshua Dachenhausen with 13 and 16 minutes respectively as both had three saves and three allowed goals each. 

UP NEXT

Mckendree will face the University of California Merced in an exhibition round in the WWPA Championship tournament tomorrow on Saturday, November 23rd at 9:00 AM PT/11:00 AM CT at the William Woollett Jr. Aquatics Center in Irvine, California. 

For more updates and information on Bearcat Athletics, please continue to visit McKBearcats.com and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. 
#BearcatsUnleashed 

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