Bronx, N.Y. – (November 12, 2019) –
Phillip Wang's goal with 1:45 left in the fourth quarter proved to be the difference maker, as the 16
th-ranked Fordham water polo team extended its win streak to seven games with a 9-8 win over St. Francis Brooklyn on Tuesday night at the Messmore Aquatic Center.
With the win, Fordham moved to 22-5 on the season, while St. Francis Brooklyn fell to 18-12.
The game was tight throughout with the score tied after each of the first three quarters. The only two-goal lead came with the Terriers up 7-5 in the third quarter. Fordham though answered with goals by
Sebastian Zapatero and
Jake Miller-Tolt to tie the game at seven.
Oscar Nomura
The Rams then took an 8-7 lead with 6:11 left on a goal by
Oscar Nomura, but was answered at the other end by Alexander Teplitsky for the Terriers, knotting the game at eight. After multiple timeouts and a key man-up advantage killed off by the Rams, the score remained tied with under two minutes to play.
Then,
Phillip Wang found the back of the net with 1:45 on the clock to give Fordham the 9-8 advantage. The Rams would go a man-down with under a minute to go but the team would hold strong defensively to secure the one-goal victory.
For Fordham, Miller-Tolt had three goals and three assists, with
Dimitris Koukias adding two goals. Wang finished with the game-winning goal and five steals,
Tristen Knoflick adding four steals and three swim-off wins.
Oscar Nomura had a goal and dished out four assists with Zapatero having a goal and an assist.
Sam Wheeler had the final tally for the Rams, while in net,
Bailey O'Mara notched 11 saves, one steal, and a penalty block, as he went over the 300 saves mark for the season, becoming only the second Rams goalkeeper to reach that plateau, joining Noah LeBeau in 2014.
The Fordham water polo will wrap up it 2019 regular season on Saturday, November 16
th, when the Rams host 14
th-ranked Bucknell at 2:00 PM and La Salle at 6:30 PM.
