ERIE, Pa. — The Division III No. 4-ranked Johns Hopkins University water polo team had a tough task of three games in an eight-hour span against a trio of Division II foes at the Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) Crossover hosted by Merychurst University at the Hallman Aquatics Center. The Blue Jays lost to Gannon University, 20-19, and Salem University, 18-15, before rebounding with a 12-11 defeat of McKendree University.
The day’s opener versus Gannon was high scoring from the opening whistle as the teams combined for 10 goals in the first quarter. Trailing 5-4 with 29 seconds to play in the quarter, the Blue Jays earned a five-meter and freshman Dado Soares buried the shot to tie the score prior to the break.
Soares’ goal sparked a 5-2 run that saw Hopkins push out to a 9-7 lead midway through the second quarter. The Golden Knights responded with a 4-1 run of their own as they took an 11-10 lead with 31 ticks on the clock. Senior Kami Eslami and junior Liam Housenbold scored twice in the final 15 seconds to give the Blue Jays a 12-11 lead entering halftime.
The teams traded goals throughout the third and fourth quarters and Hopkins led 19-18 on a Emerson Sullivan goal with 4:36 to play. Gannon tied the game at 3:05 on a five-meter shot and then took the lead on a six-on-five goal at 1:44. That turned out to be the game-winner as the Blue Jays failed to acquire the equalizer.
In the second game of the day, Salem jumped out to an eight-goal lead and then held off a late rally by Hopkins. The Tigers scored five of the game’s first six goals to take control early. Sophomore Ian Raley halted the early run with a goal at the 5:27 mark of the second, but Salem responded with three straight to push its lead to 8-2 with 3:10 left in the quarter. Junior Cameron Burns got one back for the Jays to set the scoreboard at 8-3 by halftime.
Salem opened the third quarter with a 4-1 run as its lead ballooned to 12-4. Senior Chris Freese scored at 2:53 to spark a 5-1 Blue Jays’ run to pull JHU within four with six seconds to go in the third quarter. The Tigers weren’t done, however, as they scored with just one tick on the clock to take a 14-9 lead into the final eight minutes.
Salem sandwiched a pair of goals around a strike from freshman Gavin Brooke to expand the lead to 16-10 early in the fourth quarter.
A 3-1 Hopkins’ run, with all three goals from Brooke, cut the deficit to four with 1:58 to play. Salem answered at the 1:10-mark to make it an 18-13 game. Burns and Freese scored back-to-back just 23 seconds apart to trim the deficit to three, but JHU could get no closer.
Hopkins ended the day on a high note with a one-goal defeat of McKendree.
The Blue Jays jumped out to a 4-2 lead, fueled by pair of goals from Burns. The Bearcats then sandwiched a pair of goals around a score by freshman Quint Steffey to inch back within one. But a Raley goal with 21 seconds to play gave JHU a 6-4 lead after eight minutes.
Sullivan opened the second quarter scoring with a goal at the 4:42-mark. McKendree answered with three straight scores to knot the score at seven-all. Freshman Jason Mihalopoulos responded with a goal with 1:30 remaining to send the Blue Jays into the half with an 8-7 lead.
Burns and Gensbigler scored back-to-back goals to push Hopkins’ lead to 10-7 with 2:02 to go in the third. McKendree answered just 13 seconds later to trim the deficit to two heading into the fourth quarter. Sullivan scored twice to open the concluding eight minutes and stake Hopkins to a 12-8 lead. The Bearcats kept battling and scored three goals in a two-minute span to slice the deficit to one. The Blue Jay defense clamped down in the final 102 seconds to secure the win.
Information courtesy Johns Hopkins University Athletics Communications
