ERIE, Pa. — The Gannon University men’s water polo team’s season is guaranteed to continue for at least another two weeks as the top-seeded Golden Knights defeated La Salle University in the 2017 Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC)-West Region Championship semifinals at the David M. Hallman III Aquatics Center.
The win secures a MAWPC-West Championship game appearance for MAWPC-West Region regular season champion Gannon (16-6, 7-0 MAWPC-West Regular Season) and locks up an automatic bid to the 2017 MAWPC Championship with the other West Region Championship game participant, Johns Hopkins University, Wagner College, Bucknell University, Fordham University, George Washington University, and the host Midshipmen at the United States Naval Academy on Friday-Sunday, November 17-19, in Annapolis, Md.
The host of the 2017 MAWPC-West Region Championship, the title berth marks the inaugural league postseason title game appearance in the history of the Golden Knights’ men’s water polo program.
Gannon will return to the pool at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, November 5, to square-off with the victor of a semifinal pitting 2016 MAWPC-West Region Champion Mercyhurst University versus Salem International University in an all-National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II title game. The Golden Knights are currently 4-0 this year versus the Lakers of Mercyhurst (10-8 W, September 29 at Gannon; 16-12 W, October 15 at Gannon) and Tigers of Salem International (16-15 W, September 23 at SIU; 15-11 W, October 14 at Gannon).
The Golden Knights wasted little time in placing La Salle behind the eight-ball and claiming a lead they would not relinquish .
Gilberto Milan (Sr., Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico/Colegio San Jose) and Zarko Sadikovic (Jr., Nis, Serbia/GTS Neimar) drew first blood for Gannon as the dynamic duo put away shots with 6:54 and 5:59 remaining in the first quarter, respectively, to snag a 2-0 lead.
Jeff Brady (So., Fallston, Md./Calvert Hall College) halved the margin for La Salle (6-17, 4-3 MAWPC-West Regular Season) at 5:18, but co-Player of the Game Nick Williams (Sr., Bainbridge Island, Wash./Bainbridge Island) returned a two-goal lead to the Golden Knights prior to the close of the first quarter by slipping in a shot at 3:48 for a 3-1 gap.
Gannon continued to pour on the offense in the dawning moments of the second quarter as Williams (6:04) and Jake Rehrer (Jr., Chino Hills, Calif./Chino Hills) (5:33) ticked off back-to-back strikes to make it a 5-1 game.
Derek DeFusco (So., Henderson, Nev./Coronado) attempted to stymie Gannon’s offensive surge by firing in a marker at 5:20, but Milan answered with a man-up tally with 4:53 on the clock to make it a four-goal spread at 6-2.
However, the Explorers refused to go away as Luke Waechter (So., Penllyn, Pa./Wissahickon) and Brady finished even-strength (4:39) and man-up (3:32) opportunities, respectively, to pull La Salle to within 6-4.
The lead slid from two to three and back to two goals over the final few moments of the first half as Jack Donnelly (So., Temecula, Calif./Chapparal) punched in a man-up goal for Gannon at 1:23 prior to Patrick Dougherty (Sr., Lower Gwynedd, Pa./La Salle) responding with a natural tally 15 seconds later (1:08) to set the scoreboard at 7-5 in favor of the Golden Knights going into the break.
Waechter moved La Salle back to within one score 19 seconds into the third quarter as he heaved in a shot with 7:41 on the clock to reinvigorate the Explorers. However, Donnelly (5:50) and Williams (4:27) extinguished La Salle’s comeback hopes with back-to-back goals to rebuild the lead to three at 9-6.
Ash Lyne (Fr., South Africa/St. John’s College) chipped the gap back to a pair prior to the closing horn of the third quarter as he found the back of the cage at the 1:38 mark to keep La Salle’s hopes alive at 9-7.
Once again, Williams played a starring role in preserving Gannon’s victory hopes as he drilled home shot with 6:36 and 5:13 to go in the final frame to provide the Golden Knights a four-goal lead for the first time since a 6-2 advantage with 4:53 left in the second quarter.
A penalty shot by Waechter at 4:34 trimmed La Salle’s deficit to 11-8, but Sadikovic put a ribbon on the victory by cashing in on a six-on-five chance at 4:08 to return the spread to four at 12-8.
DeFusco closed out the game by arching in a shot with 1:03 on the clock to set the 12-9 final score.
For Gannon, Williams led the way with five goals, while Donnelly, Sadikovic and Milan each accounted for pairs of markers. Jake Rehrer added one score.
In cage, Brett Rehrer (Jr., Chino Hills, Calif./Chino Hills) earned the other share of the Player of the Game award as he turned aside 15 shots, including 11 in the second half, to keep La Salle’s shooters at bay.
Across the field of play, Waechter (three), Brady (two) and DeFusco (two) combined for seven of the Explorers’ nine goals. Dougherty and Lyne each connected for solo scores, while netminder Owen Llewellyn (So., Lancaster, U.K./Lancaster Royal Grammar) swatted down nine scoring attempts in taking the loss.
Due to the defeat, second-year varsity program La Salle will take on the loser of the Salem International-Mercyhurst game at Noon on Sunday, November 5, for Third Place. The placement is a significant rise for the Explorers which recorded a Seventh Place finish in the then seven-team field (McKendree University joined the NCAA varsity ranks and MAWPC-West this year).
To date, the Explorers are 1-1 against SIU this year with a 13-12 non-conference loss on September 16 during Bucknell University’s Bison Invitational prior to a 15-14 league win at home in Philadelphia on September 24. Mercyhurst and La Salle only met once so far this year – a 16-8 Lakers’ victory on September 23 also in the “City of Brotherly Love”.
| 1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | – | FINAL | |
| La Salle University | 1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | – | 9 |
| Gannon University | 3 | 4 | 2 | 3 | – | 12 |
| Gannon Goals: | Nick Williams (5); Jack Donnelly (2); Zarko Sadikovic (2); Gilberto Milan (2); Jake Rehrer | |||||
| La Salle Goals: | Luke Waechter (3); Jeff Brady (2); Derek DeFusco (2); Patrick Dougherty; Ash Lyne | |||||
| Saves: | Gannon – Brett Rehrer (14) ; La Salle – Owen Llewellyn (9) | |||||
| Exclusions: | Gannon – 9 ; La Salle – 7 | |||||
| Advantage Opportunities: | Gannon – 3-for-7 ; La Salle – 2-for-9 | |||||
| Sprints: | Gannon – 3-for-4 (1st, 2nd, 4th) ; La Salle – 1-for-4 (3rd) | |||||
| Officials: | Alan Huckins, Pat Clarin | |||||
Photo 1: Gannon University’s Jake Rehrer; Photo 2: Gannon University goalie Brett Rehrer makes one of his 14 saves; Photo 3: La Salle University’s Daniel Domotor
