Providence, R.I. – (November 11, 2023) – The nationally-ranked Fordham water polo team put an exclamation point on a fantastic regular season on Saturday afternoon, defeating #20 Brown, 16-7, in Providence, R.I.
With the win, Fordham ends the regular season with a 22-7 record and earned the team's first win over Brown since 2009.
With Brown leading 5-4 in the second quarter,
Barnabas Eppel scored twice in the final 2:45 of the period with
Jacopo Parrella also scoring in that span to give Fordham a 7-5 lead at the half.
The Rams poured on the offense in the third quarter, outscoring the Bears, 6-0, in the frame for a 13-5 edge, going into the final period.
Lucas Nieto Jasny and
Luca Silvestri each netted a pair of goals in the third quarter with
Balazs Berenyi and
Gabriel Melillo having the other markers.
Fordham extended the lead all the way to 15-5 before Brown scored on a penalty shot at the 6:11 mark of the fourth quarter. Eppel added a final marker for his eighth hat trick of the season and the 16-7 final score.
Parrella led the attack for Fordham with four goals and three assists, while Nieto Jasny had four goals and two assists. Silvestri added two goals and two assists with Eppel having a hat trick. In net,
Thomas Lercari was superb with 13 saves, two assists, and two steals in three-plus quarters of work.
The Rams now prepare for the 2023 MAWPC Championship, which will be held at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania next weekend. Fordham is the top seed and will receive a bye into the semifinals on Saturday, November 18
th, where they face the winner of the Wagner-George Washington quarterfinal match.
