ERIE, Pa. – The Mercyhurst men's water polo team won its first game of the weekend but proceeded to lose two close game at the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Division II Championships hosted by Gannon Oct. 14-15.
Mercyhurst started the on Saturday with a win against McKendree, and then lost to Salem International shortly after. On Sunday, the Lakers dropped to host Gannon to complete the 1-2 weekend.
Individual game recaps and the All-Tournament Team are listed below:
Mercyhurst 13, McKendree 10
The Lakers began the weekend with a tight three-goal win over McKendree Friday afternoon.
Mercyhurst used the power play to its advantage throughout the game and scored on four-of-nine power play chances. The Lakers also limited McKendree to just one-of-eight on its power play tries.
Connor Schmitz led all scorers with three goals on three shot attempts. Seven other Lakers chipped in with at least one goal.
Ryan Witoslawski had a solid overall game with a team-high six shot attempts and four steals in addition to a goal in the second quarter that gave the Lakers a lead that they did not give up for the rest of the game.
Salem 12, Mercyhurst 10
A late rally in the fourth quarter wasn't enough for the Lakers as they dropped game two on Saturday.
Mercyhurst trailed 12-7 at the end of the third quarter before rattling off three goals in the fourth to bring the final score within two.
Connor Schmitz led the Lakers offensively with three goals and an assist.
Andrew Too-A-Foo tied a game high with three steals while
Alex Cappuccio tied a game-high with six shots while chipping in two scores.
Despite a decent .417 team shooting percentage (10-for-24), Salem got the edge in scoring attempts by converting 12-of-27 shot attempts for a .444 shooting percentage.
Gannon 16, Mercyhurst 12
Mercyhurst came up short in its final game of the weekend on Sunday, losing by four to the eventual tournament champion Gannon.
The Lakers pulled within one shortly after halftime, but Gannon responded with a five goal run to lead 14-8 entering the fourth quarter.
Matt Bachler had a monster game with four goals scored on a game-high nine shot attempts for Mercyhurst. He also had two assists and two drawn exclusions.
Despite holding Gannon scoreless on six power plays and out-shooting the Golden Knights by two, the Lakers came up on the lower shooting percentage, posting a .316 shooting percentage (12-for-38) compared to Gannon's .444 (16-for-36).
With a 1-2 record, Mercyhurst ended up placing third in the round-robin tournament format. Gannon (3-0) took first place, with Salem (2-1) finishing second and McKendree (0-3) ending up fourth.
Connor Schmitz,
Daniel Alvarez, and
Philip Jenny were each named to the All-Tournament Team. The full team is listed below:
Zarko Sadikovic - Gannon University "Tournament MVP"
Gilberto Millan - Gannon University
Nick Williams - Gannon University
Jack Donnelly - Gannon University
Joseph Mahan – McKendree
Luc Gregory – McKendree
Milos Popovic – Salem International
Marton Dudok – Salem International
Petar Leontijevic – Salem International "Rookie of the Meet"
Philip Jenny – Mercyhurst
Daniel Alvarez – Mercyhurst
Connor Schmitz – Mercyhurst
The Lakers get back in the pool on a trip to New York City where they'll play Fordham and Iona on Oct. 21.
