BRIDGEPORT, W.V. – The men's water polo team traveled to the newly formed WWPA West Virginia Showdown on October 24th and 25th to begin conference action, where they came away with two wins and a setback at The Bridge Sports Complex in Bridgeport, West Virginia.
GAME ONE vs. Gannon
BOX SCORE
Score: McKendree University 18, Gannon University 17
Record: Bearcats 8-12, 1-0 WWPA | Golden Knights 7-9, 0-2 WWPA
HOW IT HAPPENED
Gannon struck first blood in the match off a penalty shot committed by the Bearcat defense, as the former team took the early 3-2 edge. Utility Rowan Daughtrey (Commerce City, Colo.) made his dozenth goal of the season with 36 ticks left in the first quarter, which had helped spark a 4-0 spurt by McKendree up until midway through the second period where the senior was able to convert two more to give him the early hat-trick.
The two sides would alternate scoring possessions in the next 12 minutes of gameplay with McKendree holding a four-point lead heading into the final quarter after junior utility Joshua Gibson (Nassau, Bahamas) made due on a power play opportunity.
A little over a minute into the fourth period, sophomore attacker Alexandros Prokopis (Palaio Faliro, Greece) was able to extend their advantage to five before Gannon tacked on back-to-back scoring possessions to keep within striking distance. Daughtrey halted the hot streak momentarily with a three-yard sling through on the left side.
The Golden Nights made one final push to tie up the game, as they notched in three goals in the final two minutes and 40 seconds, but an exclusion by one of their field players came at a cost, as the Bearcats were able to eke out an 18-17 conference-opening victory.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
• Prokopis, Daughtrey, senior attacker Armand Le Goff (Reims, France), and freshman utility Jonas King (Oviedo, Fla.) each tabbed a hat-trick of three goals on 66.6% combined shooting.
• Gibson contributed two goals with a steal and a field block on the defensive end.
• Graduate goalkeeper Gennaro Pecoraro (Pesaro, Italy) swatted the ball 15 times in the cage, while also dishing out an assist.
• McKendree shot 18-for-31 (58.1%) and went 1-3 on sprints.
• The Bearcats assisted on 13 of their 18 goals (72.2%)
GAME TWO vs. Mercyhurst
BOX SCORE
Score: McKendree University 22, Mercyhurst University 16
Record: Bearcats 9-12, 1-0 WWPA | Lakers 2-19, 0-5 MAWPC
HOW IT HAPPENED
Mercyhurst opened up the game with a 2-1 lead two and a half minutes into play, right before McKendree responded with a 4-0 run to take their first lead after senior center Yannick Robertson (St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago) dented the twine for his second consecutive goal with Prokopis hitting two straight subsequently after.
The Lakers tied the game up at seven apiece after a 5-2 spurt, but it was Prokopis again leading the charge with a 5-1 response and giving the Bearcats three goals in the process to close out the half up 12-8.
After three consecutive goals by the Mercyhurst offense–all via exclusions or penalties–McKendree widened the gap immensely with six unanswered goals with Prokopis tacking two more along with freshman attacker Jacob Orr also getting two inside with Le Goff and Daughtrey each pushing for one.
With a six-point lead to start the final period, the Bearcats held serve with a 4-goal output by both teams. Junior utility Tristan Grimett (Johannesburg, South Africa) made a pair to reach double-digit goals in the 2026 campaign, as sophomore attacker Jayden Del Campo (Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada) notched his seventh of the season, as McKendree swam away with a 22-16 win in the non-conference bout.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
• Prokopis led the offense with seven goals on nine shots (77.7%) with two assists, tying for the most goals and points by an individual player this season.
• Le Goff finished with three goals and three assists for six points on 50.0% shooting, along with two drawn exclusions, a takeaway, and a field block.
• Gibson, Grimett, Robertson, King, and Orr all had two goals made in the match.
• Redshirt junior goalkeeper Gavin Haight (Jenison, Mich.) played 31:30 of the 32:00 minutes and tallied a season-high 13 saves and contributed an assist.
• McKendree shot 22-for-33 (66.6%) and went 3-1 on sprints.
• The Bearcats assisted on 17 of their 22 goals (77.3%).
GAME THREE vs. Salem
BOX SCORE
Score: McKendree University 10, Salem University 12
Record: Bearcats 9-13, 1-1 WWPA | Tigers 9-11, 2-0 WWPA
HOW IT HAPPENED
In the final game of the WWPA West Virginia Showdown, McKendree began hot with the first three goals of the contest from the trio of Grimett, Robertson, and Prokopis. A goal scored by Salem with five seconds remaining in the first quarter began a 3-0 responding spurt for the Tigers, bleeding into the second period.
Prokopis paused the Tiger output for a brief moment with his second goal off a five-meter penalty shot to close the first half, but Salem to begin the second dropped in another three straight to take a 6-4 edge.
The game of runs continued, this time in the Bearcats' favor with a 5-1 run headlined by rowan Daughtrey, who score on each of the latter three of the spurt. Salem rebounded with back-to-back scoring possessions to tie the game at nine with 4:36 remaining. The next possession, an inside center feed into Robertson gave McKendree the lead once more, but that would the last the Bearcats would see the back of the net, as the Tigers turned the tables and powered in three unanswered goals in the final 3:40 of action thanks to a man-up opportunity and a penalty conversion to win 12-10.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
• Daughtrey and Robertson clinched a hat-trick of three goals each, with the former getting an assist, a drawn exclusion, and a field block. The latter drew a kick-out and stole the ball once.
• Prokopis tabbed a pair of scoring possessions, with Grimett and Le Goff each getting one inside.
• Pecoraro marked 17 saves and made a trio of steals with an assist.
• McKendree shot 10-for-25 (40.0%) and went 2-2 on sprints.
• The Bearcats assisted on seven of their 10 goals (70.0%)
UP NEXT
McKendree will get a bye week to prepare for conference weekend number two at the WWPA Erie Classic, hosted by Gannon University on November 7th and 8th at the Hagerty Family Events Center in Erie, Pennsylvania.
All games in the event are expected to be streamed live and on demand for free on the WWPA Network, with live stats also available via The FOSH.
Make sure to keep up with McKendree University Water Polo on X (Twitter) and Instagram. #NCAAwaterpolo
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