BRIDGEPORT, W.V. – The men's water polo team fell short of being in contention for a one-seed in their conference's region with a setback to Salem University, yet rebounded with a dominating win over Washington & Jefferson College on day two of the Salem Invitational on Sunday, October 26th at The Bridge Sports Complex in Bridgeport, West Virginia.
GAME ONE vs. Salem
BOX SCORE
Score: McKendree University 17, Salem University 19
Record: Bearcats 10-11, 2-2 WWPA | Tigers 14-13, 1-3 WWPA
HOW IT HAPPENED
In what was a crucial match for McKendree to win and give them the outright one-seed in the upcoming WWPA Championships Tournament, the team finished just short of those hopes.
It was a seesaw affair throughout the entire first quarter as Salem began with back-to-back power play goals, in which McKendree responded at the midway point in the period with junior attacker Armand Le Goff (Reims, France) notching the Bearcat's first two of the game. The Tigers hit right back with another consecutive pair plus another two as time winded down as Le Goff earned himself the early hat-trick, plus a goal from sophomore utility Joshua Gibson (Nassau, Bahamas), as McKendree found themselves down 4-6 at the end of period number one.
Senior utility James Ramey (St. Louis, Mo.) started out period number two with a man-up goal before the Tigers kept their offensive rhythm at a constant. From 4:15 to 3:01, Gibson carried the Bearcats on his shoulders with three straight scores, which helped ignite a 3-0 run for the squad that was capped off by Ramey. Le Goff would return to the fold with one more goal before halftime approached to tie the game up at 10 apiece.
It would be a rough start to half number two as Salem opened up with five straight shot conversions. However, McKendree would not be denied as Le Goff and freshman attacker Alexandros Prokopis (Palaio Faliro, Greece) tag-teamed a 4-0 answer with each contributing on a pair to pull within one.
A 3-1 run by the Tigers in green would keep them ahead semi-comfortably as regulation time kept winding down. Le Goff and Prokopis continued their highlighted way with another goal assessed to each, but their efforts would come short of achieving another monumental win, as they would fall to Salem, 17-19.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
• Le Goff tied his career-high with eight goals on 12 shot attempts (66.6%), and supplemented the match with two assists, two drawn exclusions, three steals, and three field blocks.
• Gibson and Prokopis also finished with a hat-trick each, as the former had four goals as the latter had three, plus an assist and a steal.
• Ramey was the only other Bearcat to score as he had a pair of shots that went in and a takeaway
• Graduate goalkeeper Gennaro Pecoraro (Pesaro, Italy) was in the cage the full time, coming away with 11 saves and a steal.
GAME TWO vs. Washington & Jefferson
BOX SCORE
Score: McKendree University 23, Washington & Jefferson College 12
Record: Bearcats 11-11, 2-2 WWPA | Presidents 1-13, 0-4 MPSF
HOW IT HAPPENED
The last game of the Invitational was another dominant one for the Bearcats, where they were able to get most of their roster in the water for meaningful plays and experience.
Junior center defender Yannick Robertson (St. Augustine, Trinidad & Tobago) helped initiate a 4-0 start for his squad, which turned into a 7-2 run as junior attacker Rowan Daughtrey (Commerce City, Colo.) also dropped in a pair within the opening spurt. A goal by W&J at the early stages of the second quarter halted the McKendree run momentarily until they converted another four straight scoring possessions behind two from Le Goff as he continues his big day.
Back-and-forth action between the two programs would take place from the last minutes of the second period to the final minutes of the third, with the Bearcats still leading by a good seven. Freshman center Joaquin Vazquez (Chicago, Ill.) ended the third period with two consecutive goals to up his team's lead to nine with eight minutes to go in regulation.
There was no sign of squandering the large lead for the Bearcats, as a final 4-0 run by various members of the team put a stamp on the game and the weekend event, as they beat the Presidents handily, 23-12.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
• Le Goff followed up with his eight-goal performance in the previous game with five on five shot attempts (100%) against the Presidents, along with a pair of assists.
• Robertson earned the hat-trick with three goals, plus a steal.
• Prokopis, Daughtrey, Vazquez, and senior attacker Kris Eyolfson (Winnipeg, Canada) each came away with two goals to their name.
• Goalkeepers Gavin Haight (redshirt sophomore; Jenison, Mich.) and Brayden Ogle (sophomore; Clovis, Calif.) each split the time evenly in the cage with 16 minutes, as the former collected five saves, and two steals, while the latter had six savers, a steal, and his first-ever assist.
• With a wrap to the weekend, Le Goff has now broken three program records, as he is now first on the leaderboard for single season points (116; previously 105), goals (78; previously 70), and field blocks (18; previously 15).
UP NEXT
McKendree will take approximately a month off from games to get ready for the upcoming WWPA Championships Tournament at the SPIRE Aquatics Center in Geneva, Ohio, where they await their matchup, as they claim the two-seed in the East Region. They would start the tournament with a quarterfinal matchup against the three-seed from the West Region (still not final) on Friday, November 21st at 11:00 AM CT.
Semifinals will continue on Saturday, November 22nd should they win the previous matchup, or else it will be an exhibition against the University of California, Merced in an exhibition match. The championship/3rd place/5th place game will take place on Sunday, November 23rd, to determine the NCAA automatic bid qualifier.
All games within the tournament will be streamed live and on-demand for free on the WWPA Network, as live stats will also be provided via The FOSH. Tickets and other supporting info can be found on the conference's tournament central, which can be found HERE.
Make sure to keep up with McKendree University Water Polo on X (Twitter) and Instagram. #NCAAwaterpolo
For more updates and information on Bearcat Athletics, please continue to visit McKBearcats.com and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
#BearcatsUnleashed
