Bronx, N.Y. – If you need to get in touch with a member of the fifth-ranked Fordham water polo team tomorrow, you might want to wait until the afternoon as the Rams had a very busy Saturday. Fordham played three MAWPC matches today, winning all three with victories over Bucknell (19-5), Mount St. Mary's (24-8), and Mercyhurst (26-4) in the Messmore Aquatics Center.
 
With the win, Fordham improves to 19-1 overall, 9-0 in the MAWPC.
 
The Rams won with a mix of offense and defense, scoring 69 goals in the three matches will allowing just 17.
 
Game 1 – Fordham 19, Bucknell 5
• Ten different players scored for Fordham, led by junior Andras Toth, grad student Laszlo Strasser, and sophomore Diego Tresa, who each scored three times with Toth adding two assists and Strasser and Tresa one.
• Defensively, freshman Viktor Savic made seven stops in the Fordham net while junior Kristof Magony added four.
• The Rams opened the day with the Bison, scoring the first four goals of the match, two from sophomore Alessandro Salipante, and increased the lead to 10-3 at the half as seven different Rams scored in the second quarter.
• Fordham then put the game away in the third quarter, scoring six of the seven goals in the quarter, led by two from Tresa, to take a commanding 16-4 lead.
 
Game 2 – Fordham 24, Mount St. Mary's 8
• Freshman Oktavian Veklyuk and Tresa led the Rams in game two with four goals each while freshman Karlo Dragosevic and Toth chipped in with three each.
• Savic was busy in the Fordham goal, recording eleven saves while allowing only six goals.
• After the teams exchanged goals over the first minute, Fordham outscored Mount St. Mary's 5-2 the rest of the quarter, led by two goals from Tresa, to take a 6-3 lead at the end of one.
• The Rams then scored the first four goals of the second quarter, the first two by Veklyuk, to take a commanding 10-3 lead with 5:23 left and held a 13-6 lead at the break.
• The Rams put the game away in the third quarter, scoring seven answered goals, two from Veklyuk, to take a 20-6 lead.
 
Game 3 – Fordham 26, Mercyhurst 4
• Grad student Gianni Farrugia paced the Fordham offense with five goals and two assists while sophomore Charlie Martin added three goals and seven assists, and freshman Bern Kent recorded three goals and two assists.
• Defensively, Magony made seven saves in net while freshman Alejandro Cheline had four.
• The Rams led 7-2 after one quarter and then 16-2 at the break as Farrugia scored three times and freshman Petar Kulas twice.
 
Notes
• Fordham has taken the last eleven matchups with Bucknell, including a 21-11 win earlier this year at the Bucknell Invitational.
• The Rams now lead the all-time series with Mount St. Mary's, 14-1, winning the last 14 meetings, including a 23-5 win at the Bucknell Invitational earlier this year.
• It was the 31st meeting between Fordham and Mercyhurst with the Rams now leading the all-time series, 28-3, winning the past 17 meetings, including a 26-3 win at the Bucknell Invitational this year.
• The wins increase Fordham's home winning streak to 41 matches, dating back to 2022.
• Fordham now has a 63-match MAWPC winning streak in regular season matches dating back to the 2021 season.
• The last regular season MAWPC loss for the Rams came in the regular season finale with St. Francis (Brooklyn) on November 12, 2021.
 
What's Next?
• The Rams hit the road for three MAWPC matches next weekend, beginning with a trip to Staten Island to take on the Wagner College Seahawks on Saturday, October 24, at 12:00 p.m.
• Fordham will then head south to take on Navy on Sunday at 10:00 a.m. and George Washington at 2:00 p.m. at the U.S. Naval Academy.