Men's Water Polo | 9/18/2017 10:44:00 AM
LEWISBURG, Pa. – The Mercyhurst men's water polo team lost its first three games of the Bison Invitational but salvaged a win in its final game over the weekend.
The Lakers (now 1-4 in official NCAA contests) dropped to Wagner and the host Bucknell on Saturday. Mercyhurst lost to George Washington to begin the day Sunday before beating the University of Toronto.
Game recaps are listed below:
Wagner 20, Mercyhurst 8
Wagner got the best of the Lakers in game one and won by a healthy 12-point margin. Wagner converted on 20-of-39 shot attempts for a .513 shooting percentage.
A 6-0 Wagner run in between the early third and fourth quarters put the game well in hand.
Four Lakers scored two goals each in the game:
Alex Cappuccio,
Daniel Alvarez,
Ryan Witoslawski, and
Philip Jenny.
Bucknell 15, Mercyhurst 6
Mercyhurst's offense struggled again in their loss to the host Bucknell. The Lakers scored on just six-of-23 shot attempts (.261) compared to the Bison's 15-of-32 (.469). They also only converted on one-of-seven power play chances.
Philip Jenny filled the stat sheet with two goals, an assist, a drawn exclusion, and two steals.
Connor Schmitz added two goals on four shots.
Another 6-0 run spanning from the third and fourth quarter put the Lakers in a hole too big to get out of.
George Washington 13, Mercyhurst 8
Mercyhurst's third game was more in reach but the Lakers could not overcome a deficit to drop its third straight game.
The Lakers brought the game within two in the third quarter on a
Connor Schmitz goal, but the Colonials pulled away from there, scoring six of the next nine goals.
Schmitz,
Daniel Alvarez, and
Alex Cappuccio each netted two goals. Cappuccio also picked up two steals.
Mercyhurst 8, Toronto 5
The Lakers' lone win of the tournament came in game four against Toronto. Mercyhurst got big individual performances from
Daniel Alvarez and
Philip Jenny. Both scored three goals on nine shot attempts. Alvarez also had two assists while Jenny added two steals.
Matt Bachler score the Lakers' other two goals and had one helper.
Andrew Too-A-Foo had his strongest game in net with 11 saves and a team-high four steals.
Mercyhurst gets back to the pool next weekend at Washington & Jefferson with a three-set starting on Saturday, Sept. 23 against Connecticut College.
