ERIE, Pa. — The Mercyhurst University men’s water polo team fell short against George Washington University in taking a 17-15 Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) setback at home in the Hallman Aquatics Center.
In the first quarter, George Washington quickly scored two goals within the first minute and a half of the game. The Lakers responded with a tally coming from Ben Gavran. The Revolutionaries quickly responded with a goal of their own. A few seconds later, Aiden Botterill got on the board for the Lakers prior to Asher Jones notching another strike for the Lakers to tie the contest at three-all. George Washington proceeded to score four straight goals to take a 7-3 lead to end the opening quarter of competition.
The Revs started the second quarter with three straight goals to widen the gap to 10-3. Botterill put a halt to the scoring run, but GW responded with back-to-back goals to once again extending its lead. Botterill fired in his third goal of day to complete a hat-trick and Declan Puacz got on the board to help narrow the deficit. With less than a minute to go, Peter Bodoki scored a goal to inch the Lakers to within 12-7 going into halftime.
Mercyhurst came out of halftime on fire, with Botterill scoring his fourth goal of the game, which reduced the deficit to four. George Washington quickly responded with a goal of their own before the Lakers put together a scoring run of four straight goals as Gavran, Caden Stover, Constantine Romanov and Jones shrank the gap to 13-12. However, George Washington put away back-to-back scoring opportunities to acquire a 15-12 lead through three quarters of action.
GW began the fourth quarter with a goal to make it a 16-12 game. Botterill swished back-to-back goals to help move the Lakers within 16-14, but the Revolutionaries expanded their lead to 17-14. Stover scored his second goal of the game for the final marker.
Information courtesy Mercyhurst University Athletics Communications
