Water Polo Wraps Up Navy Open With A Split on Sunday

Fordham Water Polo closed out the 2015 Navy Open on Sunday with a loss to Johns Hopkins, 12-8, and a 21-10 victory over Salem International. The Rams begin the season with a 2-2 record from the opening weekend.

"Today was a tale of two very different games. Johns Hopkins is one of the top teams in the east. We played well [but] we just need to play a complete game; we kept it close in the first half," Head Coach Bill Harris said at the end of the day, "Overall, it was a great experience for our players to play against a talented team."
 
Fordham came into the morning contest against the Blue Jays, ranked third in the Division III poll, with an all-time record of 2-17. The Rams matched the Jays through the first quarter with a 2-2 score and trailed by just one midway through the match, 5-4. Johns Hopkins found the net three times in the third and four more in the final frame.
 
Senior Andrew Gonzalez, sophomore Cameron Shewchuck, and freshmen Magnus Sims and J.J. Meador each scored one goal apiece. Senior Patrick Lenihan added two and Diego Delgado continued his strong start to the season with two more.
 
Sophomore goalkeeper Alex Jahns started the entire match and made nine saves.
 
The afternoon tilt against Salem International saw the Rams leading, 10-6, at the midpoint and outscoring the Tigers, 11-4, over the second half.

"The match against Salem was also beneficial to us because everyone was able to get playing time and we got a chance to assess some of the new players." Harris said.
 
Senior co-captain Bobby Wurtz added two more goals, last year's leading scorer, R.J. Simmons scored a hat trick, and Patrick Lenihan netted a team-high four goals to total six on the day.
 
Sims and freshman Will Smoot each found the net twice and Landon Kern, Alon Yoeli, Grant Keesling, Meador, Ryan Guso, Cole Donnelly, Ian Watson, and Ethan Hallowell all netted once.
 
Senior Patrick Harrigan spent the first half in net and made three saves, while sophomore Bryce Charles spent the final two frames between the pipes and made four saves.

"It was a good day and a good weekend. We know what we have to work on. We're looking forward to [The] Bucknell [Invitational]. There are several very talented teams we'll be facing and the weekend should provide even more positive experience for our players." Harris said.
 
Fordham is back on the road next weekend for four games over two days in Lewisburg, Pa. First up is a rematch against Navy on Saturday morning with a 10:15 a.m. start time, before the Rams battle the hosting Bison at 4:30 p.m. On Sunday, Fordham will take on Mercyhurst in the morning and George Washington in the afternoon.