Water Polo Drops Pair of Tight Home Contests

Bronx, N.Y. – Fresh off a successful road weekend last week, the Fordham water polo team opened home action at the Col. Francis B. Messmore Aquatic Center on Saturday with a pair of Mid-Atlantic East Division games against Johns Hopkins and 10^th-ranked Bucknell.
 
In the opening match of the day, Finn Banks' goal with 2:15 left in overtime proved to be the difference, as Johns Hopkins pulled out a 12-11 victory over Fordham.
 
Similar to last week, the game was extremely tight with both teams either holding a one-goal lead at various points of regulation.  With time winding down in the fourth quarter and Fordham trailing by one, 9-8, the Rams earned a man-advantage opportunity with 32 seconds left.  The Rams took advantage of the chance, as Jake Miller-Tolt scored his fourth goal of the game to force overtime.
 
The Rams built a two-goal lead at 11-9 in overtime, as Diego Delgado and Grant Keesling both found the back of the net.  However, John Hopkins converted on a pair of extra-man opportunities to knot the game at 11, heading into the final three minutes session of overtime.
 
There, it was Banks scoring the lone goal of the session for Johns Hopkins to seal the 12-11 win for the Blue Jays.
 
For Fordham, Miller-Tolt led the way with four goals, four steals, and an assist, while Ian Watson and R.J. Simmons each had two goals apiece.  Tristen Knoflick dished out three assists to go with a steal with Delgado having a goal and an assist.  In net, Alex Jahns made seven saves to go with an assist and a steal.

 
In game two, Bucknell's Rade Joksimovic scored five times, while Ratimir Babic had four tallies, as the tenth-ranked Bison knocked off Fordham, 14-11.
 
The Bison built up a three-goal lead in the first quarter, behind a pair of goals from Babic and Jeff Hagen.
 
The Rams played even with the Bison over the final three quarters, getting within one goal, 8-7, after back-to-back extra-man goals by Delgado and Magnus Sims, late in the third quarter.  Joksimovic then took control, scoring four times over the final ten minutes to wrap up a 14-11 win for Bucknell.
 
For the Rams, Knoflick had a big game, netting a team-best five goals, while Miller-Tolt had two goals, four steals, and an assist.  Sims had a pair of goals, two assists, and three steals with Simmons having a goal and an assist.  In net, Jahns notched ten saves, including a penalty block, to go along with an assist. 
 
The Fordham water polo team continues it home weekend on Sunday, October 2^nd, when the Rams host #17 George Washington at 11 AM, followed by Navy at 4:00 PM.