ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The men's water polo team has concluded their travel at the Navy Open with a loss to Johns Hopkins University in non-conference action on Sunday, September 8th in Annapolis, Maryland. 

Score: McKendree University 14, Johns Hopkins University 17 

Record: Bearcats 0-3, 0-0 WWPA | Blue Jays 2-1, 1-0 MAWPC 

HOW IT HAPPENED 

Looking to end off on a good note at the invitational, McKendree would set the tone early with sophomore center Yannick Robertson (Trinidad and Tobago) putting two goals within the first minute and 12 seconds of play. Senior utility player Ian Raley (Baltimore, Md.) for Johns Hopkins would help spark a 2-1 answering run with freshman utility player Joshua Gibson (Nassau, Bahamas) sneaking one in between for the Bearcats. 

With under 3:30 left to play in period one, Gibson would continue where he left off on Saturday by scoring in back-to-back possessions within a 24-second span that led to a Blue Jay timeout. From there, Raley would tack on another goal, giving him the early hat-trick. Yet, that would not be enough as McKendree finished the quarter off strong with three more successful scoring drives, highlighted by perfectly timed shot from senior utility player Alex Napawan (St. Louis, Mo.) with 25 seconds remaining to give his team a comfortable 8-3 lead. 

Momentum took a complete switch on the two teams in the second quarter as the Blue Jays would not allow another dominant performance to happen again in the match. Johns Hopkins would put in five straight unanswered goals with freshman utility player Andrew Lee (Los Angeles, Cali.) connecting on the latter two to tie it up at eight a piece. 

Bearcat junior attacker Quinten Gallagher (St. Louis, Mo.) would stop the bleeding momentarily where he was able to get one in and regain the slight lead. It would not be long until the Blue Jays came right back and put another pair into the net to lead again 10-9. With under a minute remaining, Gibson would stroke one in to assume a tie heading into halftime, but freshman center defender Phillip Long (Cupertino, Cali.) made a clutch shot with eight seconds remaining to end the first half 11-10 in favor of Johns Hopkins. 

A few minutes into half number two, both sides started getting a little physical without any ability to get the ball into the net. It was not until 4:33 remaining in the third period that both sides started. Going back and forth with scoring possessions with the Blue Jays still holding a one-point lead. With 1:29 remaining, John Hopkins senior utility player Chris Lo (Newtown Square, Pa.) struck one in to give his team a 14-12 edge. 

Heading into the final quarter of play and two minutes in, both teams each scored a goal, hoping that one would run away with the win. It would look to be that way for Johns Hopkins as Lo and sophomore utility player Alec Baker (Redondo Beach, Cali.) would ice the match on two more scoring plays at the 4:46 and 4:05 marks respectively. The Bearcats would get one more shot at it with a goal from junior utility player James Ramey (St. Louis, Mo.), but it would be too late as the Blue Jays claimed the victory 17-14. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS 

• Robertson and Gibson led the way for McKendree, each scoring a team-high four goals with the majority of them coming inside the first half. 

• Johns Hopkins was led by Raley, who had five scoring plays in the game and was accompanied by Lo and Lee with three goals each. 

UP NEXT 

The Bearcats will return to the friendly confines of the McKendree Metro Rec Plex as they face the Vikings of Augustana College (Ill.) in O'Fallon, Illinois on Saturday, September 14 at 2:00 PM. 

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