CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — In its final test before Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC)-East Region play, the George Washington University men’s water polo team fell to host/No. 18-ranked Harvard University, 14-5, and worked overtime to notch a 12-11 win over Brown University at Blodgett Pool.
In a back-and-forth battle versus Brown, the Buff and Blue went in front on Viktor Jovanovic‘s score with 1:40 left in the second overtime period and held on for the one-goal victory.
The Buff and Blue dug deep to take the overtime thriller, outscoring the Bears, 2-1, over a pair of three-minute extra periods.
Neither side led by more than two goals during regulation with Brown notching the final two scores to extend the game into overtime tied at 10-all.
Nick Schroeder‘s third goal of the game was the first score of overtime, and after Brown equalized, Jovanovic came up clutch with a goal that turned out to be the difference.
The GW defense, led by goalkeeper Luca Castorina, held strong over the final 1:40 to preserve the victory.
With his hat trick, Schroeder led a balanced Buff and Blue offensive attack that included eight different scorers. Leo Lueddemann and Antonin Kralj each notched a pair of goals, while Jovanovic, Bender Russo, Nik Schoening, Henry Maas and Andrija Sekulic provided one score apiece.
The GW victory avenges a 13-10 setback versus the Bears last weekend at the Princeton Invitational.
Earlier in the day, the Buff and Blue raced out to a strong start before the Crimson flipped the script to claim victory.
GW had the lead early on with Sekulic’s goal to beat the first-quarter buzzer making it 3-1 in favor of the visitors.
From there, it was all Harvard with the home side scoring the next 11 goals, including a 7-0 advantage in the second quarter. Alex Tsotadze‘s goal with 29 seconds remaining in the third quarter pushed the Crimson’s lead to 12-3.
Sekulic and Levai netted two goals apiece, and Jovanovic also scored against Harvard.
Release courtesy George Washington University Athletics Communications
