GENEVA, Ohio - The two-seed in the East Region McKendree men's water polo was able to hold on to the 15-14 win in exhibition play against the University of California, Merced within the WWPA Championships on Saturday, November 22nd at the SPIRE Aquatics Center in Geneva, Ohio.
With the game set as an exhibition match, it does not count toward official records or statistics.
Score: McKendree University 15, University of California, Merced 14
Record: Bearcats 11-12, 2-2 WWPA | Sunbirds 5-18, 1-5 WWPA
HOW IT HAPPENED
It was an offensive showcase for both sides to start the exhibition bout, as UC Merced drew first blood 30 seconds in. Attackers Armand Le Goff (Reims, France) and Quinten Gallagher (St. Louis, Mo.) helped ignite a 4-1 run thereafter as junior center defender Yannick Robertson (St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago) and freshman attacker Aexandros Prokopis (Palaio Faliro, Greece) were on the tail end of the run.
The Bobcats were able to notch two more goals to tie it up at five apiece at the end of period number one as they began the second quarter with a converted five-meter penalty shot to take their first lead since the first minute of the game. Le Goff responded moments later with a power play goal opportunity as Prokopis nailed his second goal of the contest before UC Merced got another shot in before halftime, with the Bobcats holding the edge into the extended break, 8-7.
The Bearcats were able to lock up more defensively, holding UC Merced to only two goals in the third period of play as four scoring possessions were made by McKendree. Prokopis reached a hat-trick within the process as Gallagher and Robertson each dropped in their second goal of the match as the goal scored by Prokopis gave the Bearcats the one-point lead of 11-10.
Back-and-forth action took place in the fourth and final quarter of regulation. Robertson and junior attacker Rowan Daughtrey (Commerce City, Co.) each gave a goal for the Bearcats to keep holding serve against the opposition. Sophomore utility Joshua Gibson (Nassau, Bahamas) made use of the defensive contact and connected with a penalty shot to go up by two with three minutes remaining. As the Bobcats inched closer with another scoring possession, Robertson would not let his team be denied as while being triple-teamed, he made a rainbow shot towrds the net and fell right in to regain the two-point advantage. UC Merced made a penalty conversion on their end with 13 ticks left, but they would not be able to knot up with McKendree, as the Bearcats would prevail with a 15-14 exhibition win.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
• Robertson led all Bearcats with four goals on six attempts (66.6%) and a drawn exclusion while being an anchor defensively with a trio of steals.
• Prokopis also ended with a hat-trick with three goals scored on six shots (50.0%) plus a drawn foul.
• Gallagher, Le Goff, and Daughtrey, each supplemented with a pair of goals made as the three combined for five assists and four takeaways. Daughtrey had three of those assists and steals, along with one field block.
• Goalkeepers Gavin Haight (Jenison, Mich.) and Gennaro Pecoraro (Pesaro, Italy) split the time in the cage with the former finishing with three saves and two steals, while the latter coming away with eight savers and also a pair of takeaways.
• McKendree led in total team steals, 17-15.
• Although it does not count towards official records or statistics (exhibition), this is the Bearcat's second WWPA Championships win and first since their initial year in the conference in 2023, when they took down Fresno Pacific University 17-16 on day one of the tournament.
UP NEXT
McKendree will finish their 2025 season tomorrow on Sunday, November 23rd, when they take on the three-seed in the East Region, Salem University in the tournament's 5th-Place game at 8:00 AM CT at the SPIRE Aquatics Center in Geneva, Ohio.
The match will remain free for viewers to watch on the WWPA Network, with The FOSH made available for in-game live stats. Tickets are still available for purchase for those who wish to attend in person.
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