WASHINGTON, Pa. — McKendree University finished up a Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC)-West Region weekend at Washington & Jefferson College with a 1-1 flurry as the Bearcats took a 20-9 loss versus Gannon University and inflicted a 17-15 non-conference defeat on Penn State Behrend of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF).
Facing Gannon in the early games, the Golden Knights opened the scoring in the contest, but the Bearcats answered just 20 seconds later on a shot by sophomore attacker Luc Gregory (Laguna Beach, Calif./Laguna Beach). The Golden Knights were able to add four more goals before McKendree could respond. The response came from sophomore attacker Izaya Owotor (Portland, Ore./David Douglas). Gannon added one more goal before the close of the first quarter to take a 5-3 lead.
The Golden Knights were able to add five goals in the second quarter while holding the Bearcats scoreless to hold a 10-3 lead at halftime. Owotor opened the scoring in the third quarter on a shot that beat Gannon’s goaltender. The Golden Kinghts were quick to answer back scoring just six seconds later. However, McKendree sophomore attacker Joseph Mahan (Corinth, Texas/John H. Guyer) scored just 30 seconds later to make the score 11-5 in favor of Gannon. The Golden Knights were able to score three more before the Bearcats had an answer. Mahan answered for McKendree to closing out the quarter with a score of 14-7.
The Bearcats began the scoring in the fourth quarter on a goal from freshman utility player Abraham Allen (Webster Groves, Mo.). The Golden Knights found the back of the net for six unanswered goals before the Bearcats could respond. McKendree’s response came as a buzzer beater on a shot by freshman attacker Alex Portnoy (St. Louis, Mo./University City).
Sophomore goaltenders Anthony Murat (Chicago, Ill./Buffalo Grove) and Marko Vucetic (Belgrade, Serbia/Redstar Academy) split time in the cage registering nine saves between the two. Mahan fired 10 shots on goal scoring three goals in the game, with Owotor launching six shots scoring twice.
In the Bearcats only non-conference game of the weekend, McKendree played against Penn State-Behrend. The Bearcats grabbed an early 4-0 lead in the first quarter with goals coming from sophomore attacker Daniel Peralta (Lakewood, Calif./Lakewood), Mahan, sophomore attacker Michael Krause (St. Louis, Mo./Saint Louis University) and Owotor. The Lions answered back with two goals to cut the lead to two. However, McKendree bounced back and netted two goals of its own to take a 6-2 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Bearcats goals came from Mahan and sophomore attacker Jackson Smith (McHenry, Ill./McHenry West).
Penn State-Behrend struck first in the second quarter, finding the back of the net twice before McKendree answered. The Bearcats answer came from Allen, who beat the Lions goaltender to give McKendree the 7-4 lead. The Lions responded 20 seconds later, but McKendree had an answer. The Bearcats answered with three goals coming from Gregory, Owotor, and Stewart. Penn State-Behrend added one more just before the end of the half, to close out the quarter with McKendree leading 10-6.
The third quarter saw back and forth action from the two teams, with the Bearcats striking first. Owotor netted his third of the game to extend McKendree’s lead. The Lions found a bit of a hot streak netting three goals before the Bearcats could answer. Krause found the back of the Lions net as the teams traded goals to put the score at 12-10 in the Bearcats favor. McKendree found itself a hot streak netting three goals of its own before the close of the third quarter. McKendree’s goals came from Gregory, Mahan, and freshman defender Brandon Kavanaugh (Hawthorn Woods, Ill./Mundelein Consolidated). The Bearcats held a 15-10 lead over the Lions heading into the final quarter.
McKendree was outscored 5-2 in the final quarter, but held on to take a 17-15 victory over Penn State-Behrend. Owotor netted both goals for the Bearcats in the final frame.
Release courtesy McKendree University Athletics Communications
