ERIE, Pa. — The Gannon University men’s water polo team outscored Mercyhurst University, 9-4, over the final three quarters after overcoming an early 4-1 deficit to remain undefeated in the Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference Western Division with a 10-8 victory in front of a jammed-packed crowd at the Carneval Athletic Pavilion Pool.
Mercyhurst controlled the first quarter and ended the frame with a 4-1 lead after Daniel Alvarez scored with one second left on the clock.
Gannon rebounded nicely with the first three goals of the second quarter. Redshirt junior Zarko Sadikovic (Nis, Serbia/GTS Neimar) ignited the rally with a score, before senior Gilberto Millan (Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico/Colegio San Jose) tied the contest with back-to-back goals.
Mercyhurst stopped the bleeding with 1:39 left in the first half on another Alvarez goal and took a 5-4 advantage into halftime.
The Lakers’ score and five-minute break did little to stop Gannon’s momentum as the Golden Knights ripped off three straight goals to begin the second half.
Senior Nick Williams (Bainbridge Island, Wash./Bainbridge Island) netted the tying score 29 seconds into the second half and the go-ahead goal less than a minute later. Sadikovic followed with his second goal 30 seconds after that to give the Golden Knights their first multiple-goal lead of the evening at 7-5.
Mercyhurst managed to score late again, cutting the deficit to 7-6 after three stanzas.
Gannon assumed its largest lead of the evening when Williams and freshman Tim Baer (San Diego, Calif./Classical Academy) opened the final quarter to back-to-back scores, extending the Golden Knights’ lead to 9-6.
The two teams split the next two goals, before Mercyhurst’s final tally with five seconds left completed the scoring summary and gave the home team a 10-8 victory.
For Gannon, Millan led both sides in scoring with four goals. Williams also recorded a hat trick with three scores, while Sadikovic and Baer completed the Gannon scoring attack with two goals and one score, respectively.
Junior Brett Rehrer (Chino Hills, Calif./Chino Hills) picked up the victory between the pipes.
The contest represented Gannon’s home opener after playing 10 matches and five exhibitions away from the Carneval Athletic Pavilion Pool. Further, the Golden Knights were playing their first non-exhibition match on campus since a 14-13 victory against Salem International on October 31, 2015.
In the history of the program, Gannon has not lost a home opener at the CAP Pool since 2011.
Further, Williams became the 13th Golden Knight in program history to score 100 career goals 50 seconds into the fourth quarter, while Millan moved past John Cenedella (2001-04) and into sixth place all-time at Gannon with 144 career goals.
Release courtesy Gannon University Athletics Communications
