On This Date Presented by Belmont Realty
 
With the 2020 fall sports season canceled by the COVID-19 outbreak, we at Fordham have decided to dig back through our archives and provide our fans with content on some of the outstanding teams and student-athletes who have graced Rose Hill over the years.
 
November 14, 1971 – (New Haven, Conn.) – The 1971 season for Fordham water polo was another step forward for a young squad and head coach Joe Bernal.  The ambitious group entered the 1971 East Championship and proved the Rams would be a contender in years to come.
 
After taking down the Northeast champion MIT and second seeded Bucknell, the upstart Rams fell in the Eastern Championship final to Yale, who would become the Rams' nemesis over the next few years.
 
"We've come a long way," said Bernal. "and we'll be back."
 
The Championship began with Fordham ousting the Northeast Champion MIT by a 14-7 score.  Fordham co-captain Ned Kelly continued his torrid scoring with six goals in the first half with Kevin Sullivan and Howie Rackover each adding a tally to build an 8-2 halftime lead.
 
The second half was more of the same with Kelly adding four more markers for a total of 10 in the game with Sullivan notching two more for a hat trick.  Dennis Zinkand put together a fine effort in goal for the Rams, which culminated with a penalty block.
 
The Eastern semifinal was the most entertaining of the Championship between Fordham and Bucknell.  The game could not have been closer as the teams consistently exchanged goals for an 8-8 score after three periods of play.  Kelly had six of the eight Ram goals with Rackover and Kevin Conway each hipping in one.
 
Bucknell looked like they had broken the match open, building a 13-9 lead with just over four minutes left in the fourth quarter.  However, co-captain Brian Reilly calmly planted one pass after another within reach of Kelly, who despite tight coverage managed to slam in four goals to knot the game at 13 with 30 seconds left.  Reilly then intercepted a pass on the Bison's next possession ad once again found a breaking Kelly, who outmaneuvered a defender and netted his game-best 11^th goal of the game to give Fordham the one-goal lead.  Bucknell failed on their final attempt due to excellent defensive work from Reilly, Zinkand, Conway, John Baran, and Jack Roney.
 
In the final with a chance at representing the East at the NCAA Championship, the Rams got the opening goal of the contest from Reilly and finished the quarter tied at one.  The Bulldogs found some success in the second quarter, but goals from Kelly and Reilly kept Fordham within striking distance, trailing, 7-3, at the half.  The Bulldogs though would be just a step too much for the Rams, eventually taking the match by a 15-5 final.
 
Kelly had the final two goals for the Rams, giving him a total of 24 in three games.  He was named the Championship MVP and earned a spot on the All-Eastern Team.