ANNAPOLIS, Md. — The George Washington University men’s water polo opened its season Saturday with a doubleheader split at the Navy Open hosted by the United States Naval Academy as the Colonials fell to No. 14-ranked Princeton University, 12-5, and upended Iona College, 15-8, at Lejeune Hall.
Andras Levai and Nick Schroeder led GW’s offense on opening day, posting four goals apiece.
Facing Iona, the Buff & Blue roared out of the halftime break with five straight goals to pull away from the Gaels for a season-opening victory.
GW led 7-5 at intermission before Bruno Rebessi struck twice and Levai, Viktor Jovanovic and Andrija Sekulic each scored once in a run that pushed the advantage to seven goals late in the third quarter.
In his collegiate debut, Sekulic tied Levai for the team lead in goals with three, while DJ Davis tallied a goal and a career-high four assists.
A first-year from Miami, Rebessi finished with two goals and an assist, and fellow rookie Logan Kalish recorded a well-balanced stat line in his debut with a goal, an assist, a team-high three steals and a field block. Schroeder and Ford Bruggen supplied two goals apiece in the victory.
GW’s defense limited Iona to just three goals after halftime, boosted by a 12-save performance in net from Luca Castorina.
In the late game, George Washington came up short versus the nationally-ranked Tigers on the back end of the twin bill.
After falling into a 6-1 hole, GW managed to score three straight to pull within 6-4 on Antonin Kralj’s goal with 3:53 left in the opening half. From there, Princeton dug in, scoring three straight goals before halftime and then adding on after the break.
Schroeder paced the Buff and Blue attack with a pair of scores, while Levai chipped in a goal and an assist. Bender Russo finished with a goal, two steals, a field block and an ejection drawn.
Castorina stayed busy in net, piling up a career-high 20 saves to keep GW within striking distance most of the way.
Release courtesy George Washington University Athletics Communications
