Water Polo Edges Wagner, 10-9

Bronx, N.Y. – After six weeks of playing all over the U.S., the Fordham water polo team finally returned to the Bronx for their 2017 home opener on Wednesday night against MAWPC rival Wagner College.  The Rams used the home pool advantage to score six times with the man-advantage and defeat the Seahawks, 10-9, at the Col. Francis B. Messmore Aquatic Center.
 
With the win, Fordham improved to 12-6 overall, 4-1 in the MAWPC East Division, while Wagner fell to 9-11 on the year, 3-4 in the league.
 
The match focused on a pair of prolific scorers in Fordham's Massimiliano Mirarchi, who had 57 goals entering the match, and Wagner's Jasmin Kolasinac, who had fired home 60 on the year.
 
Mirarchi scored the opening goal of the game for Fordham, while Kolasinac scored two of Wagner's three goals in the first quarter to give the Seahawks a 3-1 lead after one.
 
The Rams flipped the script in the second, scoring three times to Wagner's one, leaving the game tied at four at the half. 

Mirarchi scored the first two markers of the period, while Diego Delgado netted the other.
 
Wagner opened up a two-goal lead in the third at 6-4, but Joseph Agabs and Jake Miller-Tolt scored for Fordham to knot the game at six, heading to the final frame.
 
After exchanging goals to start the fourth quarter, the Rams notched a pair of extra-man goals from Phillip Wang and Miller-Tolt to go up by a 9-7 score.  Wagner cut the deficit to one at 9-8, but with 2:43 left, Ethan Vandeventer, who was playing in his first game since September 24^th, snuck a shot past a Wagner defender and inside the right post for an extra-man goal and a 10-8 lead.
 
Wagner scored with 1:42 left to close within one, and had possession with 49 seconds left.  The Seahawks worked the ball to the left side, where Vandeventer was able to create a turnover and cause a steal, giving Fordham the ball and the 10-9 win.
 
For Fordham, Mirarchi finished with four goals, two steals, and two blocks, while Miller-Tolt had two goals, three assists, and four steals.  Agabs added a goal and three steals with Vandeventer having a goal and two steals.  Wang also finished with a goal and an assist in his home debut.  In net, Alex Jahns made seven saves for the win.
 
The Fordham water polo team will next be in action on Saturday, October 21^st, when the Rams host Mercyhurst at 1:00 PM and Salem International at 7:30 PM at the Messmore Aquatic Center.