The Fordham Men's Water Polo team ended a productive three-day, six-match stretch in California with four wins and two losses, including a 2-2 mark at the Gary Troyer Memorial Tournament held at Pomona-Pitzer Colleges. The Rams now sit at 10-8 (2-2 CWPA) on the season and look towards a home clash against Iona on Thursday night.
On Thursday, Fordham battled both La Verne and Mount San Antonio on their respective campuses in nonconference play before the two-day tournament.
In game one against La Verne, the Rams triumphed, 12-6, behind three goals from junior
R.J. Simmons, whose tallies were followed by one from senior co-captain
Bobby Wurtz, two by reigning CWPA Northern Division Player of the Week
Andrew Gonzalez, one from senior co-captain
Davis DeFontes, one by
Patrick Reyes, one by
Grant Keesling, and one by
Ethan Hallowell.
Sophomore
Alex Jahns started in net and played 3.25 quarters, making seven saves, providing two assists, and notching one steal. Classmate
Bryce Charles saw time in the fourth quarter and tied a career-high with four saves.
"It was nice to travel to the west coast this weekend. This was the first of six games and we were anxious to do well at the start of the trip," Head Coach
Bill Harris said, "We lost to La Verne last year so we were hoping to get a win. They're a solid team. I thought we played well on defense, especially on the man-up, and we stopped them a lot. Great way to start off."
In the early evening tilt, the Rams never trailed and defeated Mount San Antonio, 12-8, behind senior
Patrick Lenihan's four goals. Gonzalez added his third of the day and Simmons his fourth, while Reyes,
Ethan Vandeventer, and freshman
Magnus Sims all scored twice. Jahns played all four periods in goal and made seven saves.
"This was a close game. We didn't finish some counter-attacks but overall it was a good day. Two wins after a cross-country flight is a success," Harris said.
The Gary Troyer Memorial Tournament kicked off against #16 Whittier College, ranked by the CWPA as the top Division III program in last week's rankings. The Rams jumped out to a 3-1 lead and held a 6-5 lead at the half. Fordham, leading 9-7 after three, let its slight lead slip in the fourth, allowing four goals to none to take a tough 11-9 loss.
Wurtz, Gonzalez, Sims, and Lenihan all netted twice, while Simmons found the net once. Jahns was a force once again in net tying his career-high of 11 saves set last week against #12 Brown.
"This was a ranked team, a good team. We have to raise our game for all four periods and be consistent, especially against ranked opposition." Harris said.
Next up on Friday was Redlands University, a program that received votes in the national ranking for several weeks. The Fordham upperclassmen trio of Wurtz, DeFontes, and Simmons all scored once in the opening period and the Rams defense shut out Redlands over the first two periods, holding their slim 3-0 lead at halftime. The Bulldogs would rally and outscore Fordham, 5-2, in the second half to force overtime. Redlands scored first in the three-minute overtime period 14 seconds after Reyes was excluded, but Sims would find net with 55 seconds left to force a second overtime period. Redlands found the net again but Wurtz was able to equalize again. A little more than 30 seconds into the sudden death period, the Bulldogs found their winner through senior Nelson Glendinning.
"This was a good game. We came out strong and kept control of the match. I'm seeing a lot of improvement from this team." Harris said.
In game three against Division III Occidental College it was all about
Patrick Lenihan's five goals keeping the Rams afloat as the Tigers matched them every step of the way except in the second quarter, where the 2-1 Rams advantage proved to be the difference in the tight 7-6 victory. Simmons added one goal in each the first and second, but Lenihan scored in all four periods, with two in the third, to get Fordham the win.
In the sixth and final match of the weekend, the Rams battled California-Lutheran. Another evenly-contested and tight match-up, the score was 6-6 after three periods. Both teams would score once more in the final quarter before the Rams found their winner through Simmons with 45 seconds left to avoid another overtime period after having already completed nearly 24 complete periods.
Wurtz found the net three more times in the contest, while Gonzalez, DeFontes, Reyes, and Sims all netted once. Jahns played all four quarters and made seven saves and added two steals.
"The guys were a little tired after six games but we persevered, hung on to the lead, and got the win. It was heartbreaking to lose to Redlands in sudden death and a close match against a ranked team in Whittier but we bounced back. We're really looking forward to our conference games."
Conference play begins this Thursday evening at 7:30 p.m. at the Col. Francis B. Messmore Aquatics Center in the Bronx. The Rams will host the Iona Gaels then have a six day break before a road contest at St. Francis Brooklyn.
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