George Washington University Takes Out Wagner College, 15-5, for Third Place at 2024 Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference Championship
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Antonio Florena (Fr., Napoli, Italy/Liceo Classico Statale “Umberto I”) and Player of the Game Adonis Vlassis (Jr., Athens, Greece/Lycee Franco-Hellenique Eugene DelLacroix Athens) both scored four times as George Washington University powered past Wagner College 13-2 in the first half to garner a 15-5 win in the Third Place game at the 2024 Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) Championship.
Competing at the United States Naval Academy’s Lejeune Hall, the Revolutionaries never trailed in opening up a 6-1 lead by the conclusion of the first quarter before outscoring Wagner 7-1 in the second eight-minute frame to put the contest out of reach.
Leo Lueddemann (Sr., Danville, Calif./Monte Vista) added three goals in the win for the Revs with Andrija Sekulic (Sr., Belgrade, Serbia/Savremena Gimnazija) and Kai De Orbeta (So., San Juan, Puerto Rico/The Baldwin School of Puerto Rico) chipping in pairs to support an eight save effort by goalkeeper Luca Castorina (Gr., Catania, Sicily/Liceo Galileo Galilei).
The victory adds another Third Place finish to GW’s MAWPC resume following championships (2017; 2018) along with runner-up (2016, 2019), Third Place (2020/Winter 2021; 2021, 2022) and Fifth Place (2023) marks.
Matan Friedenberg (Fr., Tel Aviv, Israel/Alliance) keyed the Seahawks with a pair of goals. Kyle Chambers (Sr., Thousand Oaks, Calif./Westlake), Vince Varga (So., Budapest, Hungary/Lauder Javne School) and Kristian Stanczewski (Sr., Harleysville, Pa./Souderton) each racked up solo strikes. Goalkeeper Filip Petrovic (Fr., Seattle, Wash./Roosevelt) posted five saves in taking the loss as Wagner claims Fourth Place after previously placing Second (2017), Third (2018), Fourth (2021, 2023), Fifth (2016, 2019) and Sixth (2022).
| 1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | – | FINAL | |
| Wagner College |
1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | – | 5 |
| George Washington University | 6 | 7 | 0 | 2 | – | 15 |
| GW Goals: | Antonio Florena (4); Adonis Vlassis (4); Leo Lueddemann (3); Andrija Sekulic (2); Kai De Orbeta (2) | |||||
| Wagner Goals: | Matan Friedenberg (2); Kyle Chambers; Vince Varga; Kristian Stanczewski | |||||
| Saves: | GW – Luca Castorina (8) ; Wagner – Filip Petrovic (5) | |||||
| Exclusions: | GW – 11 ; Wagner – 15 | |||||
| Advantage Opportunities: | GW – 4-for-15 ; Wagner – 2-for-11 | |||||
| Sprints: | GW – 0-for-4 ; Wagner – 4-for-4 | |||||
| Cards/Misconducts: | MAM – GW (Yam Yabakov 54 seconds left in 2nd Q); YC – Wagner (Head coach Josh Hower, 8:00 left in 3rd Q); MAM – GW (Adonis Vlassis, 5:16 left in 3rd Q); MAM – | |||||
| Officials: | Alex High, Jim Lewis | |||||
George Washington University’s Leo Lueddemann (#3) defends Wagner College’s Vince Varga (#9)
George Washington University’s Andrei Khudiakov (#16) & Wagner College’s Kyle Chambers (#2)
George Washington University’s Andrija Sekulic (#8) lines a shot over Wagner College’s Kristian Stanczewski (#13)
