Lewisburg, Pa. – (September 17, 2022) – The 17
th-ranked Fordham water polo team opened the Bison Invitational, hosted by Bucknell, with a pair of league wins on Saturday.
The Rams opened the day with a 17-13 win over Mt. St. Mary's.
With Fordham leading 12-11 after three quarters of action, the Mountaineers tied the game at 12 with 6:25 left in the fourth quarter. Fordham answered with back-to-back goals from
Nir Gross and
Luca Silvestri to regain a two-goal edge at 14-12.
Mt. St. Mary's closed the gap back to one at 14-13, but the Rams rallied for three goals over the final three minutes to capture the 17-13 win.
For Fordham, Gross led the attack with a team-high five goals on eight shots, while
Jacopo Parrella notched four goals to go with two assists and two steals.
George Papanikolaou added three goals and five assists with
Luca Silvestri (2 goals),
Christos Loupakis,
Lucas Nieto Jasny, and
Nacho Ariste also scoring for Fordham.
In match two, it was a defensive battle with Fordham taking a 10-7 decision from host Bucknell.
The Bison opened the match with a 3-0 lead before the Rams answered with three goals of their own to tie the game at three after the first quarter.
Papanikolaou and Gross then scored in the second quarter for a 5-4 Fordham edge by halftime.
The seesaw affair continued with Bucknell tying the game at six after three quarters. Fordham though powered through in the fourth, tallying four goals to Bucknell's one for the win.
Parrella and Papanikolaou each netted three goals in the game with Silvestri having two goals and two assists. Gross and Loupakis rounded out the Fordham scoring. In net,
Thomas Lercari had a big match, posting 12 saves, including two penalty blocks.
The Rams conclude their stay at the Bison Invitational on Sunday with matches against Wagner (9:20 AM) and Salem (2:40 PM).
