LEBANON, Ill. – The men's water polo team will be in for a very busy week, playing an abundant seven matches across a four-day stretch out in the sunny coasts of California, which includes a four-game all-inclusive slate in the sport's prestigious Gary Troyer Tournament hosted by a handful of schools in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) 

The team will waste no time upon arrival, as they begin with a late-night rematch against California State University, Fullerton at 9:00 PM CT on Wednesday, October 1st. The game will appear live and can be accessed with a subscription on ESPN+. 

The next day will present a pair of final tune-ups before the tournament, as McKendree will face off against (RV) Concordia University Irvine in a non-WWPA counted game on Thursday, October 2nd at 12:00 PM CT. Immediately afterwards, the Bearcats will ride to Huntington Beach and play Cuesta College in an exhibition match at 3:30 PM CT. As with all exhibitions and scrimmages, statistics do not count towards the team or player stats. 

The real test will begin on Friday, October 3rd when the squad heads to Claremont at the Haldeman Pool to take on No.7 University of California San Diego at 3:30 PM CT and then switch venues to face No.14 California Baptist University at 7:15 PM CT at the Axelrood Aquatics Center. 

The final day of both the tournament and the trip will see the Bearcats back at the Axelrood for matchups against No.20/DIII No.1 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges at 1:30 PM CT in the afternoon, and then conclude by facing off with DIII No.10 Whittier College for a second time this season at 5:15 PM CT. 

With coverage pending for the match against Cuesta, all games will be provided with live stats via The FOSH at https://www.thefosh.net/. 

Live streaming the contests will vary by opponent. The game against Cal State Fullerton will air on ESPN+ at https://www.espn.com/watch/. The game against CUI will be broadcast on the WWPA Network via subscription at https://team1sports.com/wwpa/. The only game streamed live at the Gary Troyer tournament will be the match against CMS on FloSports at https://www.floswimming.com as all other hosting institutions will not stream games not involving their own team. 

View the "TUNE IN-FO" to see all details and specific destinations. 

SCOUTING THE LAST OUTING 

McKendree went 3-0 in their last outing at the Erie Invitational Classic in Pennsylvania. They started out with two wins on Saturday, September 27th, against Penn State Behrend [16-14] and then later in the day against Washington & Jefferson College [21-10]. On day two, they faced PSB once again and handled them in a dominating fashion [18-6]. 

The outcomes resulted in the Bearcats moving to 4-4 on the season overall, with yet to play a conference opponent. 

ALL YOU NEED IS PENN AND PAPER 

You want to make history? Or at least to repeat history? If so, head on down to the Keystone State of Pennsylvania and bring some document cases full of clean white paper to write something for the books. 

First and foremost, there were no Ls to be taken, as McKendree reeled in a perfect 3-0 weekend. That made the first 3-0 win streak for the program since November 5th-6th of 2022, when the squad hosted Gannon University, Mercyhurst University, and Salem University in their own invitational... the year before the team became members of the Western Water Polo Association (WWPA). 

Next, you had two 10+ goal wins in the final two matches in the Erie Invitational Classic, with the win against PSB becoming a substantial 18-6 win. The 12-goal difference was the largest by the program since the Bearcats beat the Lions 19-4 on September 23rd, 2023, in the Salem Invitational. 

Yet, as much offensive firepower as there was, the team took advantage on the defensive side, by snagging a season-high in team field blocks in the first game against PSB with six. It is the most since swatting seven against Long Island University on September 21st, 2023. 

We cannot forget about the players in this case, as they were the ones who made the end result the end result. Junior attacker Armand Le Goff (Reims, France) stood out immensely with 19 points, 14 goals, five assists, five drawn exclusions, nine steals, two field blocks, and a pair of sprints won. In the last game against the Lions, it was his career-high in goals with eight, spanning back to his days at Saddleback College. 

Junior center defender Yannick Robertson (St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago) was not too far off from Le Goff, as the former registered nine points (all of which were goals), three drawn exclusions, and five steals. He and Le Goff are the only two players to have played in all eight season games and have scored at least one goal. 

Freshman attacker Alexandros Prokopis (Palaio Faliro, Greece) was also very consistent in last weekend's invitational, as he finished with a hat-trick in all three outings and a pair of assists in each of the first two, while he rounded out with five drawn exclusions, six steals, and a trio of sprints won. 

As if the pools were deep, McKendree goalkeeping bodies are even deeper. Redshirt sophomore Gavin Haight (Jenison, Mich.) was tabbed for two wins in the first two event games as he registered 11 saves, two steals, and a pair of assists with a 50.0 save percentage. Sophomore Brayden Ogle (Clovis, Calif.) saw his first action all season as in the three games, splitting duties, he tallied eight saves and one steal on a 40.0 save percentage. Graduate Gennaro Pecoraro (Pesaro, Italy) only played in two matches, but he came away with one earned win, nine saves, five steals, and a 56.3 save percentage. 

WEEKLY WINNER 

The Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) announced on Wednesday, October 1st, their weekly players of the week winners, with Armand Le Goff taking the offensive side of the award. 

It is the team's sixth-ever WWPA Player of the Week (third offensive), and their first of the 2025 season. Head Coach Miguel Figueras gave the following: 

"Armand has been a valuable leader both in and out of the water. He has made an immediate impact on our program since arriving this year. Armand has really been instrumental in helping build team chemistry.  While I am sure he is honored to be named Offensive Player of the Week, he is probably more excited to room with Geno [Pecoraro] on our West Coast trip!" 

TEAM TOPPERS 

• SHOTS – Armand Le Goff (59) 
• GOALS – Armand Le Goff (29) 
• ASSISTS – Alexandros Prokopis (11) 
• POINTS – Armand Le Goff (39) 
• SHOOTING % – Davion Nichols (66.7%) 
• DRAWN EXCLUSIONS – Yannick Robertson (16) 
• STEALS – Tie; Gennaro Pecoraro, Armand Le Goff (16) 
• FIELD BLOCKS – Armand Le Goff (7) 
• SPRINTS WON – Tie; Alexandros Prokopis, Armand Le Goff, (4) 
• SPRINT % – James Ramey (50.0%) 
• SAVES – Gavin Haight (47) 
• SAVE % – Gavin Haight (49.5%) 

LOOKING AHEAD 

After the Gary Troyer Tournament and California trip, McKendree will be set to host their annual WWPA Bearcat Clash back home in O'Fallon, Illinois, for four matches with Senior Night coming against Salem on Saturday, October 11th at 3:00 PM. 

All 10 games in the Clash will be streamed live for free on the WWPA Network as live stats will also be provided via The FOSH. 

TUNE IN-FO 

DATE	TIME (CT)	HOME (DARK) TEAM	AWAY (WHITE) TEAM	LIVE STATS	WATCH LIVE
10/1/25	9:00 PM	Cal State Fullerton	McKendree	STATS	WATCH ($)
10/2/25	12:00 PM	Concordia Irvine	McKendree	STATS	WATCH ($)
10/2/25	3:30 PM	Cuesta	McKendree	NO STATS	NO STREAM
10/3/25	3:30 PM	UC San Diego	McKendree	STATS	NO STREAM
10/3/25	7:15 PM	Cal Baptist	McKendree	STATS	NO STREAM
10/4/25	1:30 PM	Claremont-Mudd-Scripps	McKendree	STATS	WATCH ($)
10/4/25	5:15 PM	Whittier	McKendree	STATS	NO STREAM

 

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