ANNAPOLIS, Md. — The Division III No. 10-ranked Johns Hopkins University water polo team opened the season with a split at the Navy Open hosted by the United States Naval Academy. Hopkins dropped a tough 19-18 decision to Gannon University in the opener and then beat Mercyhurst University in Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) competition, 21-18.
The first quarter against Gannon was back-and-forth early before a Phillip Long goal sparked a 4-1 Hopkins’ run as the Blue Jays grabbed a 7-4 lead with 50 seconds to go in the frame. Petar Markovic and Ben Fribourg then sandwiched a pair of goals around a five-meter score by Long and it was 8-6 Blue Jays after one quarter of action.
The Golden Knights picked up right where they left off, scoring the first five goals of the second quarter to go up 11-8. Sophomore Alec Baker and freshman Patrick Rooney halted the run with a pair of scores in the final two minutes to make it an 11-10 game at the half.
Gannon came out firing to start the third quarter, scoring four straight to push out to a 15-10 lead midway through. Long ended the run with a five-meter goal, igniting a 4-1 Hopkins’ run that saw the deficit trimmed to one at the end of three quarters. The teams traded goals throughout the fourth quarter and the Golden Knights held on for the one-goal win.
Hopkins rebounded in the afternoon with the win over Mercyhurst. The Blue Jays jumped out to a 4-1 lead, fueled by a pair of goals from freshman Andrew Lee. Alessio Sampedro scored with 2:01 to play in the quarter to ignite a six-goal run as the Lakers grabbed a 7-4 lead with 5:40 to go in the second quarter. Senior Ian Raley ended the run with the first of his two goals in the quarter and cut the deficit to two. Mercyhurst answered with two goals in 46 seconds to push out to a 9-5 lead.
Raley and Lee sandwiched goals around a score from Asher Jones in the final four minutes and the Lakers led 10-7 at the half. Mercyhurst opened the third-quarter scoring to push the lead to four, but a Raley five-meter score at 4:41 sparked a four-goal run that tied the game less than two minutes later. Jones put Mercyhurst back on top, but back-to-back goals from Long gave Hopkins its first lead since the early in the second quarter.
Jacob Hopkins scored with 1:24 to go in the third to knot the score at 13, but Raley buried a five-meter shot less than a minute later and the Blue Jays led 14-13. Petar Vujovic scored to open the fourth quarter and tie the game at 14. Rooney and junior Quint Steffey answered with back-to-back goals and the Blue Jays led by two with 5:17 to play. The Lakers were not going away, however, as Mercyhurst received goals from Vujovic and Owen Hardner to tie the game once again. Lee scored just 21 seconds later to spark a 5-2 run to end the game and give Hopkins the 21-18 win.
Long led the Blue Jays with eight goals and nine points, along with two steals in the opener versus Gannon. Lee was the only other Blue Jay with multiple goals and also drew five ejections. Babel handed out a team-best four assists to go with a goal.
In the win over Mercyhurst, Long scored six goals and grabbed three steals. Raley finished with a career-best seven points and tied his high with five goals. Junior Daniel Palfi notched a team and career-best four assist to go with a score. Lee scored four goals, drew five ejections and grabbed a pair of steals. Sophomore Chris Poisler matched his career-high with 10 saves.
Release courtesy Johns Hopkins University Athletics Communications
