Connecticut College Does Not Give Up the Ship in Topping Mercyhurst University, 16-15, Penn State Behrend, 15-12, & Washington & Jefferson College, 13-8, at Erie Invitational; Gannon University Gets By Camels, 21-8
ERIE, Pa. — The Connecticut College men’s water polo team hit the road for four games at the Erie Invitational on Saturday-Sunday, September 21-22, and picked wins over Mercyhurst University, 16-15, Penn State Behrend, 15-12, and Washington & Jefferson College, 13-8, to go along with a 21-8 loss to Gannon University.
The Camels improve to 4-2 on the year.
Connecticut opened the weekend on Saturday, September 21, with a one-goal defeat of Division I opponent Mercyhurst.
The Lakers jumped out to a 2-0 lead, before Cormac Stevens (Philadelphia, Pa.) put the Camels on the board. Mercyhurst added a goal late in the opening quarter to lead 3-1 after eight minutes, but the the game remained tight in the second quarter as Conn outscored Mercyhurst 6-5 in the frame. The Camels received goals from Jesse Ellis (Fresno, Calif), Jeffrey Harrington (San Diego, Calif.), Thomas McDonough (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) and Paul Podrebarac (Friendswood, Texas), while Stevens added a pair of tallies as Conn trailed 8-7 entering halftime.
The Lakers opened the third quarter with three of the first four goals of the frame extending the lead to 11-8. However, Conn answered right back with three straight markers from Ellis to tie the game at 11-all. Harrington and Ellis each added a goal before the end of the quarter, as the game was tied at 13-all heading to the fourth quarter.
Mercyhurst acquired leads of 14-13 and 15-14, before Stevens tied the game at 15-all. With two and a half minutes left in regulation, Carson Neidert (West Palm Beach, Fla.) found the back of the net for the difference in a 16-15 win.
Facing Division II Gannon, the Golden Knights utilized a strong opening quarter to open an early lead on the way to a 21-8 defeat of the Camels.
Gannon jumped out a 3-0 lead before McDonough got the Camels on the board. The Golden Knights tallied three more goals, but Harrington hit the back of the net to make it 6-2. Gannon used a 9-0 run over the rest of the first quarter through the entirety of the second quarter to lead 13-2 by halftime.
Gannon outscored Conn by a 3-2 count in the third quarter as Harrington and Matthew Maischoss (Malibu, Calif.) both scored for the Camels who trailed 16-5 after 24 minutes of action. Conn added three more goals in the final frame as Stevens notched two goals, while Jonathan Rojas (Houston, Texas) tacked on a marker. However, Gannon recorded five more goals to keep the Camels at bay in a 13-score win.
Conn rebounded in their first game on Sunday, September 22, by overpowering fellow Division III institution Penn State Behrend, 15-12.
The Camels jumped out to a 4-1 lead after the first quarter and never looked back as Siaki Nelson (Houston, Texas) and Stevens netted pairs of goals in the opening frame. The Lions answered with three straight goals to tie the game early in the second quarter at four-all. However, Conn ended the first half on a 3-1 run to lead 7-5 at the break. During the run Harrington notched one goal, while Ellis added two.
The run continued for Conn to start the second half as Ellis and Stevens both connected for strikes to extend the lead to 9-5. Penn State Behrend answered with back-to-back markers, before the Camels outscored the Lions 3-2 the rest of the frame. Keegan Kosiba (Birmingham, Mich.) scored twice, while Ellis added another marker, as Conn led 12-9 heading to the fourth quarter.
Podrebarac pushed the lead to 13-9 early in the final quarter, before a 3-1 Lions’ run made it 14-12 late. However, Ellis added an insurance marker as Conn came away with the 15-12 victory.
Connecticut closed out the weekend with another strong performance by dealing a 13-8 defeat to Washington & Jefferson.
The Camels exploited a 6-2 first quarter to jump out to an early lead and cruised to the final horn.
Ellis, Harrington, and Stevens got the scoring started as the Camels opened up a 3-0 lead. W&J got on the board, before back-to-back markers by McDonough and Rojas pushed the lead to 5-1. The Presidents made it 5-2, but a late goal from McDonough made it 6-2 after eight minutes.
W&J struck early in the second quarter making it 6-3, but Conn closed out the half with two straight goals, as Podrebarac and McDonough expanded the margin to 8-3 entering intermission.
Conn’s strong play continued into the third quarter as the team outscored W&J by a 3-1 count in the frame. The Presidents struck first, cutting the lead to 8-4, before the Camels answered with three straight markers. During the run Harrington, McDonough and Nelson each connected for one goal, as Conn led 11-4 entering the fourth quarter.
The Presidents made a strong start to the final frame, using a 4-1 run to cut into the Camels lead to move within 12-8. Rojas added another marker to allow the Camels to take home a five-goal victory.
Sebastian Parilov (Brooklyn, N.Y.) played every minute in goal for the Camels to conclude the weekend with a 3-1 mark.
Information courtesy Connecticut College Athletics Communications
