CLAREMONT, Calif. – Division III No. 9-ranked/No. 4 seed/Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF)-East Region Champion Augustana College utilized a 6-2 scoring run in the fourth quarter – including a score by goalkeeper Declan Hutton as time expired – to overcome Division III No. 8/No. 3 seed/Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC) Fourth Place finisher the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), 14-13, in the third-place game of the USA Water Polo Division III National Championship hosted at Axelrood Pool on the campus of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges.
Augustana (18-9) – which defeated MIT by a 9-7 score at the University of Redlands’ Thompson Aquatic Center last year for the program’s inaugural Top Three finish at the USA Water Polo Division III Championship – adds another top three finish to the school’s list of accomplishments. MIT (8-22) – which holds prior third (2019, 2022, 2023) and fourth (2021, 2024) finishes at the USA Water Polo Division III Championship – claims another fourth place mark.
The Vikings struck first in the game as Cole Faux put away a man-up opportunity with 5:31 remaining in the first quarter. Following a yellow card to Augustana head coach Ryan Pryor (5:08) and an exclusion to Mark Addison (3:15), Adam Ivatorov (Sr., Rockaway, N.Y./Staten Island Technical) took advantage of the ensuing six-on-five bid at 3:14 to set the scoreboard at one-all via a man-up score.
Augustana answered with back-to-back natural goals by Faux (2:32) and Stevan Rasic (1:33) to push ahead 3-1, but the Engineers deconstructed the Vikings’ lead in short order as Ivatorov (1:23) and Caspar Lightner (Fr., San Diego, Calif./The Bishop’s School) (34 seconds) tied the game at three-all with an ensuing yellow/red card to Pryor before the termination of the first quarter.
MIT gained the lead in the second quarter as Ivatorov (5:30) and Rick Lundh (Jr., Rancho Santa Fe, Calif./Cathedral Catholic) (4:53) delivered even-strength strikes to give the Engineers a 5-3 margin. Rhys Lomax (4:13, man-up) and Andras Beleznay (Jr., Delray Beach, Fla./Saint Andrew’s School) (4:01) traded tallies before Rasic (3:37) chipped Augustana’s deficit back to a goal at 6-5. Back-to-back tallies by Lightner (2:09) and Ivatorov (1:01) rebuilt MIT’s lead to 8-5 before Ian Palmroos moved the Vikings back to within a pair at 8-6 prior to the halftime horn as he cashed in a man-up chance with 30 seconds left in the second quarter.
William Ewald (Jr., Greenwich, Conn./Brunswick) commenced the second half by denting the twine with a man-up strike (6:10) in returning MIT to a three-goal lead at 9-6, but Palmroos lined in a five-meter penalty shot at 5:40 to once again inch the Vikings within a pair of scores at 9-7.
MIT increased its lead back to three scores prior to the end of the third quarter as Ivatorov (4:04) and Victor Perez (Jr., Key Biscayne, Fla./Ransom Everglades) (3:31) buried even-strength opportunities before Palmroos put away a six-on-five goal (54 seconds) to set the scoreboard at 11-8 in favor of the Engineers heading into the final eight minutes of regulation.
Oskar Bannister (7:02, man-up) and Lightner (6:29) exchanged goals within the first 91 seconds of the fourth quarter to keep MIT ahead by three scores at 12-9.
Mark Addison (4:26) and Bannister (2:23) put pressure on the Engineers by scoring to shrink MIT’s lead down to 12-11. Derek Schaffer (So., Redondo Beach, Calif./Redondo Union) gave MIT some breathing room with a goal (1:02) to make the score 13-11, but goalkeeper Declan Hutton (54 seconds) and Faux (nine seconds) tied the game at 13-all with back-to-back markers.
MIT attempted to win the game in regulation, but the Engineers left enough time on the clock for Hutton to heave a ball into the opposing cage as time expired for the winning goal as Augustana overcame a two goal deficit with 62 seconds left to claim victory.
For MIT, Ivatorov (five) and Lightner (three) combined for eight of the Engineers’ 13 goals with Beleznay, Lundh, Shaffer, Ewald and Perez each accounting for solo markers. Lightner led the team with three assists, while Ewald had a team-high three steals. Goalkeeper Joshua Woren (So., Aurora, Colo./Cherokee Trail) made six saves and snagged a pair of steals.
Palmroos (three), Faux (three), Rasic (two), Hutton (two), Bannister (two), Lomax and Addison combined for Augustana’s 14 goals with Hutton stopping 14 shots and grabbing two steals in earning the win.
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