The Fordham water polo team did everything they could to dig out of a six-goal deficit on Wednesday night against the 17
th-ranked St. Francis Terriers at the Messmore Aquatic Center. The Rams would get an opportunity late in the fourth quarter to tie the game, but eventually fell short to the Terriers, 9-7.
With the loss, Fordham falls to 10-10 on the season, 2-4 in the CWPA Northern Division, while St. Francis improved to 6-9 on the year, 5-1 in the league.
After trading goals to open the game, St. Francis got a pair of goals from Vuk Vujosevic to take a 3-1 lead. Fordham responded with a late extra-man goal by
Andrew Gonzalez to pull within 3-2 at the end of the first quarter.
The Terriers answered that goal with six straight tallies to lead, 8-2 with 5:20 left in the third quarter.
Fordham then mounted a comeback, scoring twice to end the third quarter and then three times in the fourth quarter to pull within one, 8-7. The Rams then got a steal by
Eric Minowitz on the defensive end, his third of the game, to give Fordham a chance on offense to tie.
The Rams tried to hit
Patrick Reyes in the two-meter spot on that possession, but he was tripled-teamed with the ball deflecting away to a Terrier player. After a timeout, St. Francis was able to get an empty net insurance goal in the final seconds, as Fordham went all out to get a steal and one last possession.
For Fordham, Gonzalez had a goal and two assists, while
Matthew Farrell had two goals. Minowitz tallied a goal and three steals with
Bobby Wurtz having a goal and two steals.
R.J. Simmons and
Landon Kern were the other Fordham goal scorers on the night. In net,
Noah LeBeau made five saves in the match.
The Fordham water polo team will next be in action on Tuesday, October 21
st, as the Rams host Iona in the annual Judge Cup game, beginning at 7:30 PM. The game will be streamed live on the Patriot League Network.
