CWPA Release
Final Stat Sheet
Lewisburg, PA – The Wagner men's water polo team (7-23) downed the No. 8 seed La Salle Explorers in the first round of the Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) consolation bracket on Saturday afternoon by a final score of 15-13 and will now face No. 6 seed Johns Hopkins on Sunday at 10:30 am in the fifth place game.
Once again, the Green & White made great use of the man advantage, scoring on four of six opportunities, however it was a 10-4 scoring differential in the first half that gave Wagner the insurance they needed to hold off a late surge from the Explorers.
Behind hat tricks from both
Vuk Bulajic and
Matthew Miller, the Seahawks took a 10-4 lead into the second half. La Salle would respond in the third quarter, outscoring the Green & White 6-2 to lessen their deficit to 12-10. However, an evenly paced final stanza saw both teams score three goals, to reach the final score of 15-13.
Wagner was led by Bulajic and his game-high five goals in a player of the game performance. Miller and
Shaked Yacoby both added a hat trick apiece; the Seahawks would also find scores from
Olivér Fodor (2),
Karl Lovett (1), and
Lachlan Trabinger (1).
The Explorers were led by Cole Strohson who tallied four goals in the game. He was accompanied by two other multi-goal scoring La Salle swimmers, Luke Waechter and Daniel Domotor, who scored three and two goals, respectively. Callin Chimilar, Jeff Brady, Joey DeFusco, and Tyler Williams each added a single goal for the Explorers as well.
WHAT'S NEXT FOR WAGNER
The Seahawks return to the pool tomorrow in a fifth place deciding match at 10:30 am going up against the No. 6 seed Johns Hopkins. Wagner defeated Johns Hopkins 20-13 on September 29 in the Spiro Sports Center, but fell 23-22 in their regular season finale on November 10.
ABOUT JOHNS HOPKINS
Johns Hopkins is coming into the final day of competition with an overall record of 11-20, having dropped their MAWPC Championship opener to No. 3 seed George Washington 17-9, but defeating Gannon University 17-13 to earn a spot in the fifth place match.
The Blue Jays and Seahawks have met twice so far this season, with Wagner earning a 20-13 senior day victory in the Spiro Sports Center on September 29 and JHU besting Wagner 23-22 in their regular season finale on November 10. All-Time the two teams have competed nine times, with the Seahawks coming out on top in seven times of the last eight, after dropping the first meeting between the two teams on September 24, 18-10.
Johns Hopkins is led by the offensive duo of Finn Banks and Jayden Kunwar. Banks is pacing the Blue Jays with 66 assists, while he ranks second on the team with 67 goals, behind only Kunwar who has found the back of the cage 92 times. Junior goalie Max Fleming leads the Blue Jays in goal, having started every game, recording over 200 saves and a .308 save percentage.
