Men's Water Polo | 11/20/2016 4:34:00 PM
LEWISBURG, Pa. – The Mercyhurst men's water polo team finished the Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference Championships by winning its final game 15-11 over Connecticut College at Bucknell University Sunday morning. With the win, the Lakers finished in seventh-place for the tournament.
Mercyhurst exchanged goals with Connecticut to start the game, with
Jack Howe and
Otis Tyson matching the Camels' two scores to tie the game 2-2 with 3:20 remaining the first period. Connecticut pulled itself ahead with three straight goals to take a 5-2 lead after one.
Howe scored again for Mercyhurst early in the second quarter followed by Connecticut scoring on its next possession to make it 6-3. The next goal didn't come until late in the second quarter when
Alec Diaz cut the Camels' lead to 6-4. Both teams went to halftime at that same score.
Joey Ryan opened the scoring in the third quarter for Mercyhurst, but his goal was followed by three straight Connecticut goals to give them a four-goal lead, the Camels' largest of the game. Mercyhurst began to mount a comeback after falling behind 9-5. The Lakers went on a 4-1 run to end the third quarter with goals from
Philip Jenny,
Matt Bachler,
Connor Schmitz, and Howe, but Connecticut still had a 10-9 lead entering the fourth quarter.
The Lakers took over the match in the final quarter by scoring six straight goals in the period and holding Connecticut to just one goal in the quarter. Ryan tied the game with his second goal, and then Schmitz scored to give the Lakers its first lead at 4:43 in the quarter. Jenny added three more goals to finish with a team-high four goals and Bachler added his third of the game to put the final score at 15-11.
The Lakers finish their season with a 14-13 overall record and the first title in the history of the Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference's West Region Tournament.
