Claremont, Calif. – (October 2, 2021) – The Fordham water polo team's trip to the Gary Troyer Tournament concluded on Saturday, as the 16
th ranked Rams finished with a 3-1 record in the tournament, bringing their record to 14-4 on the year.
In the opening game on Saturday, Fordham won its tenth straight match with a 14-11 victory over Whittier.
The Rams opened the match with a 5-2 lead after the first quarter with
George Papanikolaou scoring twice to lead the offense.
Whittier closed back within one in the second quarter, but Fordham answered with extra-man goals by
Dimitris Koukias and
Lucas Nieto Jasny to make it, 7-4.
The Poets once again got within one at 10-9 in the fourth quarter with 6:10 left in regulation. Fordham once again responded with three straight goals by Nieto Jasny and even strength goal from
Hans Zdolsek to pull away from Whittier and win the match by three.
For Fordham, Nieto Jasny netted a game-high four goals to go with three assists and two steals, while Papanikolaou had three goals and two assists. Koukias and
Christos Loupakis each had a pair of goals with Zdolsek,
Curtis Vidinoff, and
Sebastian Zapatero having the remaining tallies. In net,
Bailey O'Mara played the majority of the match for Fordham, making nine saves, which included a pair of penalty blocks, while
Thomas Lercari had one save in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter.
Lucas Nieto Jasny
In the final match of the tournament, the Rams faced their stiffest challenge in #7 ranked Long Beach State, falling by a final score of 12-6.
Fordham started out strong, scoring the first three goals of the match with one from Papanikolaou and two from Nieto Jasny. Papanikolaou would score late in the frame leaving the Rams with a 4-3 lead after the first quarter.
The second quarter shifted the momentum to Long Beach State, as after three extra-man goals in the first period, LBSU scored two more in the second quarter to take a 6-5 lead.
The Beach finished the match with seven extra-man goals which lead to them taking the 12-6 victory.
For Fordham, Papanikolaou had three goals and an assist to lead the attack, while Nieto Jasny had two goals. Koukias scored the final marker for the Rams. In goal, O'Mara had eight saves, three steals, and an assist.
The Rams will next be in action on Friday, October 8
th, as they return home for league action against Mt. St. Mary's at 7:00 PM.
