BRONX, N.Y — McKendree University’s Joseph Mahan (Jr., Corinth, Texas/John H Guyer) scored a game-high five times to notch Player of the Game recognition as the Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC)-West Region Champion Bearcats found a way past the La Salle University Explorers, 15-7, in the Seventh Place game of the 2018 MAWPC Championship hosted by Fordham University at the Col. Francis B Messmore Aquatics Center.
In a battle of two teams making their inaugural appearance at the MAWPC Championship, McKendree (12-12, 3-3 MAWPC-West) built a 5-0 lead by the 2:33 mark of the first quarter and never looked back.
Mahan opened the scoring for the Bearcats by drilling in back-to-back chances at 7:27 and 6:54 prior to Ben Brauer (Fr., Duisburg, Germany/Steinbart-Gymnasium Duisburg) (6:35, 2:33) and Abraham Allen (So., Webster Groves, Mo./Wester Groves) (5:02) finding the back of the cage to build a 5-0 margin.
Ash Lyne (So., South Africa/St. John’s College) put La Salle (2-25, 0-12 MAWPC-East) on the board at 1:18 with a five-meter penalty shot before Cole Strohson (So., Newport Beach, Calif./Corona del Mar) hammered home a natural goal with 45 seconds left to move the Explorers within 5-2 after eight minutes of action.
Matthew Haygood (Fr., Chino Hills, Calif./Chino Hills) and Jackson Spencer (Fr., O’Fallon, Mo./Fort Zumwalt West) increased the spread to 8-2 in the second quarter as Haygood converted on even-strength (6:40) and man-up (2:15) chances prior to Spencer putting away a natural score at 1:02.
La Salle closed the first half with a 2-0 run, however, as Josh Delillo (Fr., Sinking Spring, Pa./Wilson) flushed shots with 42 and two seconds on the clock to make it an 8-4 game at the break.
McKendree got the pair of markers back within the first 2:30 of the second quarter as Haygood (6:39) and Aaron Jacobs (Fr., Houston, Texas/Jersey Village) (5:32) expanded the margin to 10-4, but Robert Greene (Fr., San Mateo, Calif./Junipero Serra) and Delillo delivered responses at 5:13 and 4:39, respectively, to cut the Explorers’ deficit back to four at 10-6.
However, the Bearcats ripped off a 4-0 run to secure the win as Spencer (2:43, even-strength) and Mahan (2:25, penalty shot) closed out the third quarter before Tony Sunagawa (Fr., Chino Hills, Calif./Chino Hills) (7:37, penalty shot) and Mahan (2:02, even-strength) started the fourth quarter to set the scoreboard at 14-6.
The teams traded final goals as Derek DeFusco (Jr., Henderson, Nev./Coronado) sliced in a shot at 1:19 and Mahan stroked in a response at 1:17 for the 15-7 final score.
For McKendree, Mahan led the way with five goals, while Haygood (three), Brauer (two) and Spencer also posted multi-score games. Sunagawa, Jacobs and Allen each chipped in solo markers in support of a 14 save effort by goalie Marko Vucetic (Jr., Belgrade, Serbia/Redstar Academy).
La Salle received a hat-trick from Delillo and single tallies by Greene, Lyne, DeFusco and Strohson. Goalie Owain Llewellyn (Jr., Lancaster, United Kingdom/Lancaster Royal Grammar) made 11 saves in taking the loss.
| 1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | – | FINAL | |
| La Salle University | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | – | 7 |
| McKendree University | 5 | 3 | 4 | 3 | – | 15 |
| McKendree Goals: | Joseph Mahan (5); Matthew Haygood (3); Ben Brauer (2); Jackson Spencer (2); Tony Sunagawa; Aaron Jacobs; Abraham Allen | |||||
| La Salle Goals: | Josh Delillo (3); Robert Greene; Ash Lyne; Derek DeFusco; Cole Strohson | |||||
| Saves: | McKendree – Marko Vucetic (14) ; La Salle – Owain Llewellyn (11) | |||||
| Exclusions: | McKendree – 9 ; La Salle – 6 | |||||
| Advantage Opportunities: | McKendree – 3-for-6 ; La Salle – 1-for-9 | |||||
| Sprints: | McKendree – 2-for-4 (2nd, 4th) ; La Salle – 2-for-4 (1st, 3rd) | |||||
| Cards/Misconducts: | None | |||||
| Officials: | Hadi Farid, Jamie Wolff | |||||
La Salle University’s Cole Strohson (#4) defends against McKendree University’s Abraham Allen (#6)
La Salle University’s Ash Lyne (#14)
McKendree University’s Michael Krause (#4) rises against La Salle University’s Cole Strohson (#4)
