Sept. 23, 2011

Bronx, N.Y. - The Fordham water polo team begins divisional play on Saturday, hosting a pair of CWPA Northern Division matches at the Messmore Aquatic Center. The Rams will host MIT at 1:00 PM and Harvard at 6:00 PM.

LIVE COVERAGE: Links to MIT Match - Live Video

RECENT MATCH-UPS: Fordham has played very well against the two Cambridge-based schools in recent years, posting an 11-4 record over the last three-plus season. The Rams had won seven straight matches against Harvard until earlier this month, when Harvard took an 8-6 decision at the Princeton Invitational. Against MIT in that same time span, Fordham is 4-3 against the Engineers.

LAST TIME OUT: The Fordham water polo team made their second road trip to Annapolis, Maryland this past weekend, competing in the CWPA North vs. South Tournament. The Rams posted a 1-3 mark on the weekend, highlighted by a win over Mercyhurst and a pair of losses to nationally ranked opponents.

In the team's opening match, the Rams went to overtime against the Navy "B" squad, falling by a 15-14 count. The Rams had the lead in overtime at 14-13 with 1:25 left on Robert Fleming's sixth goal of the game, setting a new career-high. However, Navy got goals from Jeff Davis and Erick Schwamb in the final 30 seconds of overtime to sneak out the one-goal victory.

Fleming led the Rams' attack with six goals and two assists in the game, followed by Ben Clinkinbeard and Nicholas Allen with two goals and an assist each. J.D. Shrewsbury, Jake Bakas, Dan Kearney, and Eric Minowitz finished the Fordham scoring with one apiece. Christian Flessner played the entire game in net, posting nine saves and a steal.

In match two, Fordham outscored Mercyhurst, 3-1, in the final quarter to take home a 9-7 victory. Fleming netted two of the three final goals for Fordham, sandwiched around Shrewsbury's eventual game-winning marker. The Rams took advantage up man-up situations, scoring 4-of-6 times with the man-advantage.

Fleming finished with three goals and an assist, while Josh Itano had two goals. Daniel Barron finished with a goal, two assists and two steals with Andrew McKernin having a goal and three steals. Shrewsbury and Willie Leach had the final two scores for the Rams. Noah LeBeau played all four quarters in net for the Rams, totaling 11 saves and a steal.

Match three of the weekend saw the Rams match-up against the 15th-ranked Princeton Tigers for the second time this season. The Tigers jetted out to a 5-1 first quarter lead and never looked back in a 13-6 game.

Fleming was Fordham's top goal scorer with two, with Minowitz having a goal and four steals. McKernin, Clinkinbeard, and Allen rounded out the Fordham scoring. In net, LeBeau had nine saves and four steals.

The final match of the weekend had the Rams face 16th-ranked Bucknell , where the Bison built up a 7-2 and took a 12-7 victory form the Rams.

Allen was Fordham's top scorer with three goals, while Fleming had two markers and a steal. Barron had a goal, two steals, and two blocks with Shrewsbury having the final goal. In goal, LeBeau had a season-high 13 saves.