Bronx, N.Y. – (November 18, 2022) – Behind three-goal games from
Nir Gross,
Christos Loupakis, and
Lucas Nieto Jasny, the Fordham water polo team advance to the semifinals of the MAWPC Championship on Friday, defeating McKendree, 15-6, at the Messmore Aquatic Center in the Bronx.
Fordham jetted out to a 7-2 lead after the first quarter, taking advantage of a McKendree squad that had played earlier in the day to reach the quarterfinals.
Christos Loupakis and
Lucas Nieto Jasny each scored twice in the frame, with
Nir Gross,
Curtis Vidinoff, and
George Papanikolaou also finding the back of the net.
The Rams expanded the lead to 11-4 in the second quarter, as
Balazs Berenyi scored twice, while
Nacho Ariste and Jasny each netted one tally.
Fordham scored the only three goals in the third quarter to go up by ten, as Gross and Loupakis completed their own hat tricks, respectively.
Mark Katsev finished the scoring for Fordham with an extra-man goal in the fourth for the 15-6 final.
In total, Jasny had three goals and an assist, while Ariste had a goal, four assists, and won all four swim-offs. Papanikolaou added a pair of assists to his goal, while
Gabriel Melillo notched three assists and three steals. In net,
Thomas Lercari had seven saves over three quarters of work, while Riccardo DiGiuseppe had two saves in the final quarter of action.
The Rams now move on to the MAWPC semifinals against fifth-seeded Salem at 6:30 PM on Saturday. Salem upset #4 seed Wagner, 18-13, in the first quarterfinal match on Friday.
Gallery: (11-18-2022) MAWPC Champ - Fordham vs. McKendree
