ERIE, Pa. — The Mercyhurst University men’s water polo team dropped a Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) game to the United States Naval Academy, 19-4, prior to slipping versus Division III No. 10-ranked Augustana College in a non-conference clash, 19-15, at the David M. Hallman III Aquatic Center.
Facing Navy, the Midshipmen opened the scoring in the first quarter with a goal. Mercyhurst tied the game at one with goal by Asher Jones. Navy proceeded to score two more goals, while the Lakers scored one more thanks to Aidan Ivory. The Lakers trailed 4-2 at the end of the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Navy continued to display their offense, scoring seven consecutive goals. The goal streak was broken by Declan Puacz with less than a minute left in the quarter. Navy led the Lakers 11-3 at halftime.
In the third quarter, Navy continued to display their offense with scoring a goal within the first 30 seconds of the quarter. The Lakers countered with a goal from Aiden Botterill. Navy proceeded to score four more consecutive goals, leading the Lakers 16-4.
In the fourth quarter, Navy scored three more goals to lock down a 19-4 victory.
Taking on Augustana, the Lakers opened up the scoring with a goal from Caden Stover in the first quarter. Augustana proceeded to score three goals in response to the Lakers. Mercyhurst responded with three goals of their own, coming from Luke Larson, Puacz and Botterill to snag a 4-3 lead. Augustana ended the first quarter scoring back-to-back goals to reacquire the lead at 5-4 through eight minutes of action.
In the second quarter, Augustana scored an opening goal, but the Lakers countered with an extra man goal thanks to Puacz for his second of the game. Augustana scored yet again, but the Lakers responded with four consecutive goals from Jones and Puacz along with a pair by Larson, giving him a hat-trick. Mercyhurst and Augustana went back and forth to enter halftime knotted at nine-all.
In the third quarter, Augustana came out and scored three consecutive goals to gain a 12-9 lead. Larson scored his fourth goal of the game to trim the Lakers’ deficit to a pair, but the Vikings proceeded to score three more goals to close out the quarter with a 15-10 lead.
In the fourth quarter, the Lakers opened up the scoring with back-to-back goals from Jones and Stover. These goals helped narrow Augustana’s lead to 15-12, but the Vikings went beserker to net back-to-back strikes. The Lakers kept fighting as Larson scored his sixth goal of the game with less than a minute remaining, but Augustana held on to the lead for a 19-15 victory.
Release courtesy Mercyhurst University Athletics Communications
