BALTIMORE, Md. — No. 18-ranked Fordham University used an 11-3 third quarter to pull away en route to a 28-12 win over host/Division III No. 8 Johns Hopkins University in a Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) contest.
The Rams jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the game’s first five and a half minutes. Sophomore Dado Soares and freshman Owen Bartlett scored back-to-back goals to pull back within two with 1:14 to go in the quarter. Jacopo Parrella and Luca Silvestri scored twice in the final minute to put Fordham up 7-3 after eight minutes.
Parrella opened the second quarter with a six-on-five goal to push the lead to five. The Blue Jays answered with three straight from Soares, senior Seth Berke and freshman Max Blecher and just like that it was a two-goal game with 5:42 to go. However, George Papinakolaou scored a five-meter goal to spark a seven-goal run as the Rams pushed out to a 15-6 lead early in the third quarter.
Sophomore Gavin Brooke halted the run at the 7:16-mark, but Fordham responded with a five-goal spurt and it was 20-7 with 3:50 left. Sophomore Daniel Palfi and Brooke sandwiched goals around a strike from Jagger McMannis to make it 21-9 with 2:36 on the clock. Christopher Gray answered for the Rams and sparked a 4-0 run as they pushed out to a 25-9 lead after three quarters.
Sophomore Jason Mihalopoulos scored a six-on-five goal, followed by a strike from Soares and it was 25-11. But once again Fordham answered with three straight and the lead was 17. Junior Mark Poisler capped the scoring with a five-meter goal at the 2:35-mark.
Brooke and Soares led the Blue Jays with three goals each. Brooke also notched the 100th point of his career. Mihalopoulos (one goal, one assist), Bartlett (one goal, one assist) and Palfi (one goal, one assist) also had multi-point games.
Release courtesy Johns Hopkins University Athletics Communications
