LEWISBURG, Pa. - The men's water polo team has won their first game of the season in an exhibition match against Saddleback College after shortcoming losses to Long Island University and Bucknell University in non-conference action from Saturday, September 21st to Sunday, September 22nd at the Bucknell Invitational in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania.
MATCH ONE vs. Long Island
Score: McKendree University 11, Long Island University 14
Record: Bearcats 0-5, 0-0 WWPA | Sharks 3-5, 0-0 NWPC
HOW IT HAPPENED
McKendree came into the Bucknell Invitational hoping to turn things around from their slow start on the season. In the first quarter against LIU, the Bearcats showed some promise as sophomore James Ramey (St. Louis, Mo.) drew first-blood 1:07 into the game. The Sharks answered when senior Riyad Shehadeh (Nicosia, Cyprus) took advantage of the five-meter penalty drawn. Tied-leading scorer for McKendree, sophomore Yannick Robertson (Trinidad and Tobago) would put his team back into the lead, but it was quickly outdone by LIU and senior Josep Jodra Muñoz (Barcelona, Spain), who put in two straight to even it up. Looking for a boost, senior Jespyn Bishop (Brighton, Colo.) snuck in a goal with one second remaining in period one to tie the game 3-3.
Robertson would open up the second quarter with his second goal of the day and was quickly recovered by Shehadeh from a goal of his own. With things starting to get a little intense, the other Bearcat co-leading scorer Joshua Gibson (Nassau, Bahamas) made the opposition pay where he scored on his own five-meter penalty shot. That led to a 3-0 run by McKendree and was able to spread the wealth on each of the goals. Muñoz helped the Sharks flip the script with a 3-0 run of their own, tying up the game once more. Just like in the first period, the Bearcats connected on another last-second shot attempt, this time by sophomore Duncan Munro (Albuquerque, N.M.) with five seconds remaining to lead 8-7.
LIU would have it all their way in quarter by scoring five straight, led by Shehadeh, Muñoz, and freshman Jack French (Brisbane, Australia). The only goal in the third period of play for McKendree came with 38 seconds remaining where Gibson slung one in, but still falling behind 12-9.
Gibson and fellow Bearcat, sophomore Isaac Demski (Eastvale, Calif.) opened up the final quarter with a scoring possession each to cut it within one, but sophomore Anthony Gauna (Lodi, Calif.) swooped in with six minutes remaining in regulation and broke the hearts of thousands of fans in purple and gold as he clutched in two more goals for LIU, giving them the 14-11 win.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
MATCH TWO vs. Bucknell
Score: McKendree University 11, Bucknell University 17
Record: Bearcats 0-6, 0-0 WWPA | Bison 4-6, 2-1 MAWPC
HOW IT HAPPENED
Still eager for their first win all year, McKendree now faces some tough competition in the tournament host, Bucknell at their own confines. Ramey would start to really heat up in this matchup as put the Bearcats on the board first. The Bison would respond drastically as sophomore Sean Tunnicliff (Long Beach, Calif.) would lead the charge of a 4-0 run as the latter three were from junior Aleksa Stefanovic (Belgrade, Serbia), giving himself a hat-trick in the early stages. Bearcat junior Quinten Gallagher (St. Louis, Mo.) would halt the streak as he struck one in, but Bucknell would answer with a goal from senior Shay Gillearn (Woodland Hills, Calif.) to end the quarter in their favor 5-2.
Gillearn would open up the second quarter with another goal and increasing the lead along with Stefanovic and freshman Tyler Hedblad (Poway, Calif.) to make it an 8-1 run for the Bison. Munro would temporarily stop the bleeding for McKendree and put them back on the board but was answered but Stefanovic's fifth goal of the game. Ramey and Robertson would give a little momentum heading into halftime with both scoring a goal with one minute remaining in the period but still trailing 9-5.
Similar to the second quarter, Gillearn would open things up with another scoring possession, making it harder for the Bearcats to catch up. Yet, Ramey would turn on the jets and connect on two straight, earning himself a hat-trick with still time left to play. Bucknell would not let opportunities deny them as they tacked on five more goals in a row, digging into the fourth quarter and coming from different players.
The Ramey and Robertson duo would show up again in the middle of the final quarter of play with each sneaking in a goal. Nonetheless, the Bison would put in two more scores to put them out of reach while Demski and fellow Bearcat, sophomore Rowan Daughtrey (Commerce City, Colo.) connected on a couple of final goals of their own but eventually falling in game two 17-11.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
MATCH THREE vs. Saddleback (exhibition)
Score: McKendree University 21, Saddleback College 15
Record: Bearcats 0-6, 0-0 WWPA | Bobcats 3-8, 1-1 EOC
HOW IT HAPPENED
McKendree did not want to leave the Bucknell Invitational empty-handed and was hungry for that first win. It started with a little bump as Saddleback connected on a goal 30 seconds into the game, making it seem to be a tough matchup, but the Bearcats would not be denied as Demski fired one in to tie things up, followed by Roberston with a duo of his own and come out strong. On the other end, Bobcat Ignacio Rodriguez (Madrid, Spain) would convert on a couple of goals of his own but was answered by Robertson with just his third goal of the game. Ramey was beginning to put on a clinic as he scored twice within the McKendree response including a last-second goal to give his team a 7-3 lead.
The second quarter of play was essentially a back-and-forth showing between the two teams as Saddleback was getting different looks from different players and still putting points on the board. For the bearcats, they also shared the wealth as Ramey would tack on two more goals and allowing Bishop, Gallagher, and junior Kris Eyolfson (Winnipeg, Canada) to get their names on the scoring list.
Coming out of halftime, Ramey would stay hot and aggressive as he helped build a 6-0 run for his team and collected a couple of more scores to earn him a double hat-trick on the afternoon. Demski and junior Riccardo Vettore (Padova, Italy) both contributed to the run as well, making it hard for the Bobcats to claw back in it. Out of nowhere, Saddleback sophomore Armand Le Goff (Reims, France) was on torrent for his squad as he scored the next five of their scoring possessions with Demski being the only Bearcat to connect within that run.
The hot streak by Le Goff bled into the fourth quarter as teammate freshman Cross Viter (San Clemente Calif.) was able to sneak one in as well. To no one's surprise, Ramey would cap off an amazing venture and day at the invitational by putting in two last goals with Munro chipping in one too. Saddleback would tack on three more straight scoring possessions, but it would not be close to McKendree's 21-point outing, giving the Bearcats their first win on the season.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
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Although being an exhibition and will not count towards the NCAA statistics, the triple hat-trick from Ramey is a career-high and was the most goals/points scored by any Bearcat this season. Only two other players in McKendree recorded history have had a 9-goal performance, with the most recent by now-graduate assistant Breno Tebet who accomplished the feat on October 29, 2023 against Mercyhurst University in the WWPA Erie Classic. The other was made by Joseph Mahan '19 on September 11, 2018 against Monmouth University.
UP NEXT
McKendree will take a break next weekend and will return to the waters on Thursday, October 3rd at Westcliff University at 10:30 AM PDT before participating in the Gary Troyer Tournament that weekend – Hosted by the Pomona-Pitzer Colleges in various locations in California.
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