ERIE, Pa. – The Mercyhurst men's water polo team continued their 2026 season at day two of the Laker Invitational. They won their first game of the day against Penn State Behrend 18-16, but lost their second game of the day against Bucknell 20-9. Splitting the doubleheader, the Lakers look to close out strong at their invitational.
 
Game One
The Lakers brought the offense in the first quarter, opening the game with three consecutive goals. The first goal came from Aiden Botterill, the second goal came from Caden Stover and the third goal came from Cooper Venneman. The Nittany Lions retaliated with four consecutive goals of their own to take the lead. With just under a minute to go, Ben Gavran scored a goal and tied the game at four.
 
Penn State Behrend continued the momentum, opening the second quarter with two goals within the first minute. Botterill stopped that, and put the Lakers on the board to keep them within a goal. The Nittany Lions responded with a goal of their own to push their lead back. Mercyhurst responded with two goals to tie the game at seven, with the first coming from Ethan Green, and the second goal coming from Botterill. The Lakers continued to carry the momentum with another goal coming from Marcos Leon. Green scored yet again for the Lakers, further pushing the lead for Mercyhurst back to two. Penn State Behrend responded with two goals, tying the game at nine. Mercyhurst scored back-to-back goals, coming from Botterill and Gavran, pushing the lead back to two. At the horn, Penn State Behrend scored a goal, but Mercyhurst took a 11-10 lead going into halftime.
 
In the third quarter, Penn State Behrend scored first, tying the game at 11. Mercyhurst responded with a goal of their own, coming from Asher Jones. Throughout the course of the quarter, both Mercyhurst and Penn State Behrend traded goals back-and-forth goals, with the Lakers scoring goals from Jones and Gavran. Mercyhurst took a 14-13 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
 
The fourth quarter began with a goal coming from Penn State Behrend, tying the game at 14. Mercyhurst kept fighting, scoring another goal coming from Declan Puacz. The Lakers extended their lead to two when Jones scored his third of the day, giving him a hat trick. Penn State Behrend kept showing signs of life, scoring yet another goal to keep themselves in the match. The Lakers responded with a goal coming from Petar Vujovic to put their lead back to two. Gavran continued the scoring for Mercyhurst, scoring his third goal of the game to give him a hat trick. The Nittany Lions scored again with under 30 seconds to go, but it was not enough as Mercyhurst held on to a 18-16 lead to become victorious.
 
Game Two
The Lakers got on the board first, with a goal coming from Caden Stover. Bucknell responded with four goals to take a 4-1 lead heading into the second quarter.
 
The Bisons opened the second quarter with a goal, further pushing their lead to four. Mercyhurst got on the board with a goal coming from Constantine Romanov. The Bisons and Lakers traded goals with Mercyhurst's goal coming from Ben Gavran. Bucknell proceeded to score back-to-back goals, further extending their lead to five. Declan Puacz got on the board for the Lakers, keeping them in the fight. Bucknell proceeded to score again, as they took a 9-4 lead into halftime.
 
Bucknell came out of halftime scoring two goals, further extending their lead by seven. Gavran scored his second goal of the game, helping the Lakers stay in this game. Bucknell responded with two more goals, pushing their lead back. Mercyhurst got on the board due to a Marcos Leon goal. Bucknell scored a goal with just three seconds remaining, taking a 14-6 lead going into the fourth quarter.
 
In the fourth quarter, Mercyhurst scored first with a goal coming from Porter Austin. Bucknell quickly responded 30 seconds later with a goal of their own. They continued their scoring, adding three more goals to extend their lead to 11. Mason Gryzbowski scored for the Lakers, making the deficit back to 10. The Lakers and Bisons traded goals, with Austin scoring his second of the game. The Bisons added another goal, taking a 20-9 victory over the Lakers.
 
The Lakers return to the pool when they play Mount St. Mary's at the final day of the Laker Invitational. Coverage begins at 1 p.m.
 
View the 2026 schedule here.