Photo GalleryAfter sweeping its first two home contests of the season yesterday, the Fordham Men's Water Polo team fell to two nationally ranked programs in #18 Harvard and #12 Brown on Sunday. In the morning duel, the Rams fell by a score of 11-4 to the Crimson, and 13-8 to Brown in the afternoon. With the losses, Fordham falls to 6-6 (2-2 CWPA) on the season.
"These are two top-20 teams and very tough opponents," Assistant Head Coach
Brian Bacharach said after the matches, "I think we played well in the beginning of both games but we got worn down as each game went on. They capitalized on their opportunities and we did not."
Harvard's defense was up to the task of stifling the Fordham attack, holding the Rams to a 14% shooting percentage on 28 shots. Fordham was also held scoreless in the final period for just the fourth time all season (the other three periods all came in a loss at Bucknell).
Senior
Andrew Gonzalez led the way with a pair of goals on five shots, both coming while Fordham was up a man, and sophomore keeper
Alex Jahns made eight stops in net.
The combination of Jahns and Gonzalez kept the Rams in a hard-fought contest against Brown through the first three periods. By the end of the third frame, Jahns had set a new career-high for himself with 11 saves, while Gonzalez set a new personal best with five of the team's opening six goals, and the Rams were down just one, 7-6, heading to the fourth. The Bears turned up the tempo in the next period, however, and converted nearly all of their shots, two coming while a man-up, to leave the Bronx five-point winners.
The Rams next travel to California for a pair of contests on Thursday afternoon and evening; first at La Verne at 3 p.m. followed by Mount San Antonio at 9 p.m. The following two days, Friday and Saturday, Fordham will participate in the Gary Troyer Memorial Tournament, held by Ponoma and Pitzer Colleges.
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