Los Angeles, Calif. – (November 30, 2023) – For the third consecutive season, the Fordham water polo team has qualified for the National Collegiate Men's Water Polo Championship, which begins on Friday at the Uytengsu Aquatics Center on the campus of the University of Southern California.
Coming off the squad's third MAWPC Championship, Fordham (24-7) opens the championship with the two-time defending national champion and #2 seed Cal (21-5). Game time is slated for 7:00 PM Eastern, 4:00 PM local time.
The 2023 championship will be an eight-team, single-elimination tournament. The first-round games begin with top seed UCLA against Biola in Game 1, followed by fourth seeded Princeton taking on UC Irvine, in Game 2. The Cal-Fordham match is the third game of the day finishing with third seed USC facing San Jose State in Game 4.
The championship will take place December 1-3 at Uytengsu Aquatics Center, hosted by the University of Southern California. First round games and the semifinals will be streamed live on NCAA.com, and the national championship game will air live on ESPNU.
GAME COVERAGE:
Friday - Fordham vs. Cal – 7:00 PM |
Game Notes (PDF) |
Live Video (NCAA.com) |
Live Stats |
Tickets |
Follow on X - @FordhamPolo
SERIES HISTORY: The Rams have only played Cal twice before. Then-#2 Cal defeated Fordham, 12-3, in 1986, and earlier this season, the Rams dropped an 18-11 road contest at Cal on October 19
th.
FORDHAM AT NCAA'S: Fordham has appeared in two previous NCAA Championships. The Rams have a 0-2 record in those games falling to Princeton in both match-ups, 17-8 in 2021, and 11-10 in overtime in 2022.
LAST TIME OUT (11/19): Heading into the MAWPC Championship final, the 15th-ranked Fordham Rams had history on their mind, as they looked to become the first East Coast squad since Navy to win three consecutive championships. The Rams did make that history, defeating the 18th-ranked Midshipmen, 12-10, for the MAWPC Championship at Bucknell's Kinney Natatorium in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania.
In the third match-up this season between Fordham and Navy, the script was the same as the first two meetings – an extremely tight match that came down to the final quarter.
Fordham got out to the quick start, getting goals from
Luca Silvestri and
Jacopo Parrella for a 2-0 lead with
Balazs Berenyi making it 3-1 in favor of the Rams. Navy picked up the next two goals, but
Lucas Nieto Jasny scored with 22 seconds left to put Fordham back on top, 4-3, at the end of the first quarter.
The Midshipmen flipped the script in the second quarter behind two goals by Kiefer Black as they grabbed a 6-5 lead, but Fordham again had a late answer, as
Christos Loupakis netted an extra-man goal with 54 seconds left to knot the game at six.
Each team scored twice in the third quarter to set up the deciding fourth quarter all tied at eight. After exchanging goals to start the frame, Silvestri netted his second goal of the game at the 5:38 mark to put Fordham on top, 10-9.
Thomas Lercari then made his presence felt, stopping multiple Navy shots to give Fordham a chance to extend the lead.
The Rams got the all-important two-goal edge with 3:04 left when Nieto Jasny netted his second marker of the contest. Fordham put together some stellar defense in the final three minutes and got another tally from Silvestri to lock up the 12-10 win.
Fordham's
George Papanikolaou was selected as the Championship's MVP, while Bacharach received Coach of the Championship honors. Papanikolaou and Parrella were also selected to the All-Championship First Team, while Silvestri earned a spot on the Second Team.
GETTING OFFENSIVE: After netting a program record 529 goals in 2022, the Rams are once again closing in on the 500-goal mark, netting 492 following the conclusion of the MAWPC Championship.
Fordham has five players with 50-plus goals this season, led by
Luca Silvestri with 67 and
George Papanikolaou with 64.
Barnabas Eppel has 61 in his first season at Fordham with
Jacopo Parrella at 56 and
Lucas Nieto Jasny at 54.
Balazs Berenyi is just shy of joining the 50-goal club with 49 on the year.
MOVING UP: In the latest national polls, Fordham has moved up to #12, which is the Rams' highest ranking since being eighth in the 1979 season.
WHO'S NEXT: If the Rams pull out a first round win, they would advance to the semifinals on Saturday, December 2
nd against the winner of USC and San Jose State.
