Pictured above: Senior Driver Matthew Miller
Princeton, NJ –Wagner men's water polo concluded day one of the Princeton Invite going 1-1, as the Seahawks capture their first win of the season over Iona 13-9 before falling to St. Francis-Brooklyn 12-9. The victory in tonight's opening match is the first under Wagner interim head coach Ciaron Wolohan.
Wagner 13, Iona 9
The Seahawks and Gaels battled back and forth for three periods before Wagner was able to pull away in the fourth period, after a well-timed timeout by Wolohan.
The first period featured two lead changes and three ties, before ending with Wagner leading 4-3, thanks to goals by
Matthew Miller,
Shaked Yacoby,
Nicolas Butelet, and
Aaron Leighton.
Iona started off the second quarter with a quick goal to knot things up at 4-4, but it was all Seahawks after that as Miller would complete his hat trick, Leighton would record his second goal of the game, and Yacoby and András Bimbó-Szuhai both converted six on fives to put the Green & White up 9-5 at the half.
The third quarter started off with a trio of unanswered goals by the Gaels which cut the lead to 9-8, before Wolohan called his momentum-shifting timeout to turn the tide back in Wagner's favor. The Seahawks would go on to score four unanswered goals, leading to an eventual final score of 13-9, giving the Green & White their first win on the young season.
St. Francis Brooklyn 17, Wagner 13
After notching their first win of the season earlier in the day, the Seahawks were looking to keep the momentum rolling and take revenge on a St. Francis team that they lost a very tightly=contested battle to last weekend at the Bruno Classic. However, a fast start by the Terriers would set the tone for the game and force the Green & White to play from behind for the entirety of the game.
St. Francis started off the first quarter with four unanswered goals before junior utility András Bimbó-Szuhai put Wagner on the board. Another goal late in the period would give the Terriers a 5-1 lead to end the first quarter.
Throughout the rest of the game, both teams would continue to score on a similar trajectory. Entering halftime with a score of 8-4 in favor of St. Francis after a hat trick by captain
Matthew Miller, third period would see the Terriers add another five goals to the Seahawks' six, making the score heading into the final stanza 13-10 with St. Francis on top. .
The Terriers kept their consistent lead over the Seahawks in the fourth quarter, ending the match with a final score of 17-13. The Green & White's offense awoke during the second half, but a steady dosage of offense from St. Francis would make a comeback impossible.
Wagner is back in the pool tomorrow morning at 9:15 am and will be looking for revenge against No. 19 Brown after suffering a 13-10 OT loss last weekend to the Bears at the Bruno Classic.
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