Men's Water Polo | 10/29/2017 12:13:00 PM

MONMOUTH, Ill. – The Mercyhurst men's water polo team enjoyed a successful weekend on the road, winning all three of its games at Monmouth College Oct. 28-29. The Lakers (9-9) took down host Monmouth and McKendree Saturday, while finishing up with a close win over Salem Interntational Sunday morning.
 
All three games were Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) matches.
 
Recaps to all three games are listed below:
 
Mercyhurst 14, Monmouth 9
 
Mercyhurst began the weekend with a five-point win to snap what had been a season-long four game skid entering the tournament.
 
The Lakers big quarter came in the second quarter, where they outscored Monmouth 5-1 to take a 9-4 lead into halftime. Monmouth cut the Mercyhurst lead to 11-7 after three quarters, but two early fourth-quarter goals by Alex Cappuccio put the Lakers in control until the final whistle.
 
Connor Schmitz filled the net with a team-high four goals on five shots. Philip Jenny and Matt Bachler also pitched in four-point efforts. Jenny scored two goals and two assists while Bachler had three helpers to go with one goal. Bachler and goaltender Andrew Too-A-Foo had five steals each.
 
Both teams had 32 shot attempts but Mercyhurst had .438 team shooting-percentage to Monmouth's .281.
 
Mercyhurst 14, McKendree 13
 
The Lakers got a huge individual effort from Philip Jenny and held off McKendree for a one-point win.
 
Jenny scored seven goals to lead all players, including four goals in the fourth quarter after the Lakers trailed by two with 6:24 left.
 
Jenny scored his goals on ten shots and drew two exclusions. He also picked up an assist and tied Daniel Alvarez for the team lead with five steals.
 
Matt Bachler also had a solid game for the Lakers, picking up three goals and two assists.
 
Mercyhurst's 23 steals proved to be a deciding factor in the game. McKendree had a better shooting percentage a .481 to Mercyhurst's .368, but the Lakers did have four power play goals to McKendree's two.
 
Mercyhurst 16, Salem International 15
 
The Lakers picked up another one-point win against another team they will host next week at the MAWPC Western Championship to conclude the weekend Sunday morning.
 
After the Lakers lead by three late in the second quarter, Salem was able to tie the game before halftime with three scores in the last 1:34.
 
Salem eventually took a one goal lead in the third quarter, but Mercyhurst went one a three-goal run of its own to take a 13-11 lead at the end of the quarter. Both teams traded goals from there, allowing the Lakers to come out with the narrow victory.
 
Connor Schmitz once again led the way with a game-high five goals and one assist for Mercyhurst. Matt Bachler also had a solid two-way game with four goals and four steals. Daniel Alvarez scored two goals with four assists and added three steals defensively.
 
Mercyhurst turned in another solid shooting effort, converting on 16-of-34 shot attempts for a .471 shooting percentage.
 
Next weekend, the Lakers play in the MAWPC Western Championships to be hosted by Gannon at the Prep-Villa Events Center. The Lakers won the inaugural tournament last season, edging Connecticut College in the championship game. Check the Mercyhurst men's water polo page for a full tournament breakdown in the near future.