IRVINE, Calif. – The men's water polo team closed out their season against Fresno Pacific University in the fifth-place game of the WWPA Championship Tournament on Saturday, November 24th, at the William Woollett Jr. Aquatics Center in Irvine, California. 

Score: McKendree University 13, Fresno Pacific University 14 

Record: Bearcats 2-18, 0-4 WWPA | Sunbirds 5-19, 0-4 WWPA 

HOW IT HAPPENED

It was an eventful opening of the fifth-place game for both teams as McKendree drew first blood in the game with a goal from freshman standout Joshua Gibson (Nassau, Bahamas) at the 6:04 mark. Fresno Pacific would take over the next three and a half minutes where they were able to fire in three straight scoring possessions to give themselves an early two-point lead. However, Gibson was there to answer soon after with two straight goals of his own, including one off an exclusion, to give himself a very early hat-trick. With 29 seconds remaining in the first quarter, the Bearcats' leading scorer, sophomore Yannick Robertson (St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago), put his team ahead by striking in a shot to lead 4-3. 

The two teams went back-and-forth in the second period of play. McKendree's Robertson notched in the first two goals for his squad as sophomore Rowan Daughtrey (Commerce City, Colo.) followed up with the other scoring possession. For Fresno Pacific, senior Eugenio Maldonado, freshman Jake Canalas, and senior Pietro Cattano each tallied their second goal of the contest as junior Forrest Gray put in his first as the Sunbirds would tie it at seven a-piece at halftime. 

The back-and-forth continued into the third quarter, as Maldonado connected on a goal a little over a minute in and Daughtrey answered a few minutes later for his second goal of the game to tie it once again. It became electric in the final minute in the third period of play as each team put in two goals within that span. Cattano and junior Christian Clark each got one for the Sunbirds as junior James Ramey (St. Louis, Mo.) and sophomore Isaac Demski (Eastvale, Calif.) got the two in for the Bearcats. The score would be tied at 10 a-piece at the end of the quarter. 

The two programs would take it into the final period of regulation to decide the winner, where Ramey started out the scoring affair with his second goal of the match. Gray and Cattano would soon answer with two scores for Fresno Pacific to help them regain the lead. With a little under three minutes remaining, McKendree senior Jespyn Bishop (Brighton, Colo.) came in hot, slinging in two goals for his squad while Gray tabbed one in between the two as the Bearcats would tie it again. With 1:11 left of regulation, Maldonado clutched in game-winning goal for the Sunbirds as they would win the fifth-place match, 14-13. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Gibson and Daughtrey both earned a hat-trick for McKendree with three goals each as the former went 3-3 and the latter going 3-4 on shot attempts. 

• Bishop, Robertson, and Ramey each collected two goals in the morning matchup as Ramey recorded two assists with Robertson swatting away two field blocks. 

• Although only notching one goal, Demski led with a game-high seven assists, making it a career-high for him. 

• Maldonado and Cattano led Fresno Pacific in scoring with four goals each, as Gray put in three with a team-high four assists. 

• Fifth-year goalkeeper Jimmy Cronin (Naperville, Ill.) was in for the whole match for the Bearcats, saving the ball eight times along with three steals. 

• On the other end, sophomore Chase Hammes was in the cage for the Sunbirds and tallied 10 saves to his 13 allowed goals plus a steal. 

• Demski was first in the tournament in assists per game (4.0) and second in total assists (8) in only two official games for McKendree. 

• Robertson was tied for first in the tournament with two total field blocks. 

• Junior Riccardo Vettore was tied for first in the tournament in sprint win percentage of 100%, going 4-0. 

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM

At the conclusion of the WWPA Championship, Cronin was named 2nd Team All-Tournament with 16 total saves (8.0 per game) on a 35.6 save percentage while also taking away three steals (1.5 per game) in the two official matches. 

UP NEXT

That concludes the 2024 season for McKendree University men's water polo. We would like to congratulate the team on a great season and give a big thank you to the eight Bearcats who will be graduating at the end of the year! 

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