Annapolis, Md. – (November 18, 2017) – Normally when George Washington and Fordham get together it's an Atlantic 10 rivalry game. However, on Saturday, the two teams faced off in water polo in the semifinals of the MAWPC Championship in Annapolis, Maryland. It was a high scoring affair that needed overtime, but in the end, George Washington's Andrew Mavis scored on a rebound with five seconds left to give the Colonials a 16-15 win to advance to the MAWPC Championship match against Wagner.
With the loss, Fordham falls to 18-11 on the year and will now play top-seeded Bucknell in the third place game on Sunday at noon.
Things started out well for Fordham, posting a 4-1 lead after the first quarter, as Jake-Miller-Tolt recorded three goals in the opening frame, while
Massimiliano Mirarchi had the other marker.
The offenses couldn't miss in the second quarter, as each team scored five times, making it a 9-6 score at the half. Mirarchi scored twice for the Rams, with
Joseph Agabs,
Tristen Knoflick, and
Ian Watson also scoring.
In the third, George Washington pulled within two at 13-11, and eventually tied the game at 13 with 6:50 left in the fourth quarter. From there, neither team could find the back of the net, forcing the game into overtime, all tied at 13.
After the Colonials scored about halfway through the first three-minute session of overtime, Mirarchi knotted the game with an extra-man goal with 14 seconds left. Those 14 seconds though were enough for George Washington to re-take the lead, as Andres Levai scored with one second remaining to put the Colonials back on top, 15-14.
In the second three-minute session,
Phillip Wang netted his only goal of the game for Fordham with 1:26 left to tie the game at 15 all. Fordham then had an extra-man opportunity with 30 seconds left, but couldn't convert, giving George Washington a chance to win the game. With time winding down, a lob shot hit the crossbar with Andrew Mavis picking up the rebound and sneaking it into the goal for the game-winning goal.
For Fordham, Miller-Tolt led the offense with five goals, while Mirarchi had four.
Diego Delgado added two tallies with Agabs, Knoflick, Wang, and Watson having one goal each.
