BALTIMORE, Md. — The Division III No. 3-ranked Johns Hopkins University water polo team split a pair of Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC)-East Region home matches. Hopkins opened the day with a tough 15-11 loss to the United Stats Naval Academy but rebounded with a 24-15 defeat of La Salle University.
Versus Navy, the teams traded goals in the opening three minutes, but the Midshipmen exploded with a 5-1 run to go up 6-2 by the end of the quarter.
Hopkins came out firing to start the second, getting goals from senior Josh Kurtz, freshman Emerson Sullivan and junior Nico Ivanov to make it a one-goal game by the 4:48-mark. Navy answered with four straight goals however, to push its lead to 10-6 at the half.
Freshman Jayden Kunwar opened the third-quarter scoring just 38 seconds in to cut the deficit to three. The defenses took over for the ensuing four minutes as neither team was able to score. Cole Jacobs broke the stalemate at the 3:03-mark and the teams would swap scores over the final three minutes.
Leading 13-8 to start the fourth, Navy got goals from Isaac Salinas and Jack Weggeland to push its lead six with 4:58 to play. Hopkins pulled back within four with strikes from junior Finn Banks and Kurtz, but the Blue Jays could get no closer.
Banks, Ivanov and Kurtz led the Blue Jays against the Mids with two goal each. Senior Giorgio Cico handed out four assists, while Banks also had a pair.
Senior Spencer Witte made 15 saves and dished a pair of assists in the loss to Navy.
In the nightcap against La Salle, Hopkins wasted little time in jumping on the Explorers, scoring the game’s first three goals in the opening 2:17. Karl Miller and Tyler Williams sandwiched goals around a strike from Kurtz and the Blue Jays led 4-2 with 3:32 to go in the opening quarter. Banks responded with a pair of goals just 28 seconds apart to push the lead to four. Ivanov followed with his second of the quarter and the lead was 7-2, but the Explorers would get one back just before the end of the period.
Ivanov, Kunwar and sophomore Olin Shipstead scored to stake Hopkins to a 10-3 lead by the 4:19-mark of the second. La Salle wasn’t going away however and answered with a 6-2 run to pull within three at the half.
The Blue Jays jumped out of the half with three goals in a 76-second span to double their lead. The teams went back-and-forth for the final five minutes of the quarter and Hopkins led 19-14 going into the fourth. The Blue Jays erupted for a 5-1 fourth quarter to secure the 24-15 win.
Sullivan finished with a game-high five goals, to go with a pair of assists. Banks and Ivanov each chipped in four goals and Kurtz added a hat trick. Cico totaled seven points on a goal and six helpers. Witte posted 12 saves and two steals in earning the win.
The 24-goal output against the Explorers is the Blue Jays’ third 20-goal outing this season. The 24 goals are also the most scored since a 24-12 win over Mt. San Antonio on September 2, 2012.
Overall, Hopkins falls to 8-52 all-time against Navy, though this is the Blue Jays’ first loss to the Mids in Baltimore since October 12, 2011. JHU improves to 4-0 against La Salle, in a series that began just last season.
A pair of Blue Jays moved up the scorign lists at Hopkins as Cico now has 322 points for his career, moving him into seventh place in school history and just two points shy of sixth place. He also has 154 career assists, ranking him third in school history.
Kurtz moved into 16th place in JHU history with 216 career points and is in seventh place with 110 career assists.
Information courtesy Johns Hopkins University Athletics Communications
