CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Division III No. 6-ranked the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) rebounded from an 11-10 loss to Wagner College by earning a 10-6 victory over McKendree University on the first day of the 2023 Brown University Bruno Classic.
Competing at Harvard University’s Blodgett Pool – as Brown, Harvard and Wheaton College are hosting the Bruno Classic on Saturday-Monday, September 2-4 – the Engineers were unable to solve the problem of Wagner in their season-opener.
The Seahawks held a 2-1 lead after the first eight minutes of play, which would be the last time they held a lead until the match’s final seconds.
MIT first-year Matthew Pryce (Johannesburg, South Africa) tied the match with a goal at 6:37 in the second quarter and the two teams went back and forth until a four-goal run from the Engineers gave them a 7-5 lead.
After Wagner cut the MIT lead to one in the third quarter, graduate student Bo Tignol (Antwerp, Belgium) put MIT back up by a pair at 8-6.
The Seahawks pulled even at nine-all with a goal by Barnabas Vidovics at the 3:06 mark of the fourth quarter. Sophomore Adam Ivatorov (Rockaway, N.Y.) placed MIT back into the lead with his fifth goal of the match at 2:43, but Wagner scored the next two, including the game-winner with 21 seconds remaining to take the win.
Ivatorov led the Engineers with five goals, while Tignol and Pryce both scored twice.
Junior Jack King (Los Altos, Calif.) led the way with five steals for the Engineers and first-year Rick Lundh (Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.) had a team-high four assists.
In goal, senior Colin Weaver (Huntington Beach, Calif.) finished with 19 saves and two steals in taking the loss.
The Engineers’ luck turned in the second game as MIT claimed a 5-2 lead after the first quarter as Ivatorov netted three of his team’s five scores in the frame.
McKendree made it a 6-4 game with a goal at 2:41 in the second quarter, but the MIT defense held the Bearcats to a pair of additional goals over the remainder of the match.
Back-to-back strikes from Pryce gave MIT a 9-6 lead and Ivatorov wrapped up the scoring with his fifth of the match giving MIT the 10-6 win.
King, Tignol, and sophomore Luke Apostolides (Greenwich, Conn.) led MIT with three steals each.
Ivatorov led the way with five goals, and Tignol added two, while Tignol and Lundh both dished out pairs of assists.
Weaver finished with 10 saves and a steal in earning his team’s first win in 2023.
Information courtesy Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Athletics Communications
