#20 Water Polo Gets Sunday Split at Princeton Invitational

Princeton, N.J. – (September 10, 2023) – The 20^th-ranked Fordham water polo team concluded it stay at the Princeton Invitational on Sunday with a pair of matches against ranked opponents.
 
Sunday started out great for the Rams, posting a 14-10 win over the 18^th-ranked Harvard Crimson.
 
The win marked the second time in the last three seasons that Fordham has beaten Harvard with both teams being ranked.
 
After each team scored twice in the opening quarter, the Rams scored five times in the second quarter to take control of the match.  Balazs Berenyi and Luca Silvestri scored two goals apiece in the frame with George Papanikolaou getting the other marker.
 
Harvard battled back within one at the end of the third quarter at 9-8.  However, Papanikolaou scored the first two goals of the fourth quarter with Berenyi adding another to put Fordham ahead 12-8 with just over three minutes left.  The Rams held on to that four-goal advantage to secure the win.
 
For Fordham, Berenyi had a game-high five goals with Papanikolaou having three goals, while Silvestri and Barnabas Eppel had two apiece.  Christos Loupakis and Paul Armingol had the remaining tallies for the Rams.
 
The nightcap was the featured match of the Invitational between #20 Fordham and #6 Princeton, a re-match of the last two NCAA Championship Opening Round games.  The Tigers continued to have the Rams' number on Sunday, posting a 15-9 victory.
 
Fordham opened the scoring with a goal by Lucas Nieto Jasny, but three straight tallies by Princeton gave the Tigers a 3-1 edge.  Gabriel Mellilo answered with a goal for Fordham in the final minute of the quarter to make it a 3-2 score after the first.
 
Princeton extended its lead in the second quarter, posting all three goals in the period for a 6-2 halftime score.
 
Each team scored three times in the third with the Tigers adding six goals in the fourth for the 15-9 final.
 
Fordham's nine goals came from nine different players, highlighted by Papanikolaou having a goal and three assists, while Loupakis, Melillo, and Armingol each had a goal and an assist.  Di Giuseppe ended the match with five saves, including a penalty block, in net.
 
The Rams now head to the Bison Invitational, September 16-17, as the team will play four MAWPC matches against Bucknell, Johns Hopkins, Wagner, and Mt. St. Mary's.