ERIE, Pa. — The Mercyhurst University men’s water polo team picked up their first wins of the season in their first home games of the season as the Lakers knocked off Washington & Jefferson College, 17-8, and Salem University, 20-7.
Mercyhurst came out firing in their first game of the day versus W&J as the Lakers jumped out to a 4-0 lead after the first quarter, Mercyhurst received goals from Joel Parnell and Derek Kagen, while Aleksa Vucurovic netted two in the opening frame.
In the second quarter the Lakers were able to win the quarter as they outscored the Presidents 4-3, Benjamin Villareal scored once, Mathieu Davis netted two in the second for the Lakers, while Vucurovic completed a hat-trick before halftime.
After a slow start to the third quarter the Lakers received goals from Parnell and Vucurovic less then 40 seconds apart. Davis completed his hat-trick by the end of third quarter, Brennan Cumby decided he wanted to join the goal scorer club and added one in the third quarter.
The Lakers received from Cumby, Parnell, Luke Tanner,and a pair by Teagan Thomas in the fourth quarter to secure the win. Nash Greeven made seven saves in the win, while the Lakers had a .567 shooting percentage.
Despite having almost six hours between games the Lakers picked up right where they left off in the night game against Salem.
Davis tallied the first goal of the game to get the Lakers an early lead. Michael Gutman posted his first of five goals in the contest at the 4:50 mark of the first frame. Mercyhurst also received goals from Kagen, Vucurovic, and lone senior Dylan Shaffer in the first quarter as the Lakers jumped out to a 5-3 lead.
In the second quarter, the Lakers went off, outscoring the Tigers, 6-1, as Gutman, Davis, Thomas, Tanner each notched one. Cumby added two to his goal total on the day as the Green & White carried an 11-4 lead into halftime.
Mercyhurst locked down on defense once again in the third quarter allowing just one Tiger goal while adding four more to their score. Kagen, Vucurovic, Gutman, and Thomas pushed the margin to 10 scores at 15-5 through the conclusion of the third frame.
The Lakers closed out the game with five more scores over the final eight minutes. Kagen completed a hat-trick, while Parnell punched in his first of the game and third of the day. Gutman racked up his fourth and fifth scores of the contest and Cumby put a bow on a hat-trick. Greeven stopped nine Tigers’ shots to claim the win.
Information courtesy Mercyhurst University Athletics Communications
