#17/14 Water Polo Extends Win Streak to Ten

Bronx, N.Y. – (October 14, 2023) – The #17/14 Fordham Rams took care of business on Saturday, posting a pair of victories at the Col. Francis B. Messmore Aquatic Center, extending the team's current win streak to ten games.
 
With the two wins, Fordham improved to 14-3 overall, 9-0 in the MAWPC.
 
The day opened with a battle of ranked teams with Fordham hosting #19 Navy.  The game came down to the wire with George Papanikolaou scoring twice in the fourth quarter to secure a 10-8 win.
 
The Rams took full advantage of Navy exclusions and penalties.  Of the Rams' 10 goals, seven were scored on either penalty shots and man-up advantages.
 
Fordham led 3-1 after the first quarter and 5-4 at the half.  The Rams and Midshipmen traded goals up until Fordham went up 9-7 with 5:00 left in the fourth quarter.  Then with 2:08 left in the game, Navy's Aiden Day was rolled for a flagrant misconduct, awarding a penalty shot to the Rams.  Papanikolaou converted on that shot to make it a three-goal edge for Fordham, which would be enough for the victory.
 
Papanikolaou finished with three goals and an assist to lead the Fordham offense, while Luca Silvestri and Barnabas Eppel each had two goals and an assist.  The Rams also welcomed back goalkeeper Thomas Lercari in net, as he made 12 saves in his season debut.
 
In game two on Saturday, Eppel scored a season-high six times to lead Fordham to a 21-9 win over Gannon.
 
The Rams led wire-to-wire, scoring the first six goals of the contest and had a 9-1 lead after the first quarter.
 
Eppel scored six times on eight shots and added a pair of steals, while Christian Gotterup also had three goals in the game.  Balazs Berenyi, Jagger McMannis, Paul Armingol, and Lucas Nieto Jasny each netted two goals, while Christos Loupakis, Gabriel Melillo, Silvestri, and Gabriel Guinane had the remaining tallies.

The Rams now get set for their west coast swing, which features six games, five of which are against ranked opponents.  The trip begins with a road match at #14 Pacific on October 18^th, followed by a match at #2 Cal on October 19^th.