LEWISBURG, Pa. — The Mountaineers of Mount St. Mary’s University sustained a 16-8 loss to Salem University and took at 21-11 defeat at the hands of No. 17-ranked Fordham University on the final day of the 2023 Bucknell Invitational hosted by Bucknell University at Kinney Natatorium. Freshman Aaron Tarr led the Mount with six goals.
Mount St. Mary’s stuck with Salem in the first half as the Tigers outscored the Mountaineers 4-2 in both the first and second quarters. Down 8-4 at halftime due to committing 14 exclusions and multiple six-on-five chances. Mount St. Mary’s was unable to out of the deficit prior to being outscored 3-2 and 5-2 in the third and fourth quarters in suffering a 16-8 setback.
Alexandros Bellesis (four) and Michael Lemishko (two) led the way for the Mountaineers with multi-goal games, while Ayden Hess and Jack Fox tacked on solo markers.
Sherif Hosni posted 11 saves in the loss.
Taking on defending Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) Champion Fordham in league competition, the Mountaineers were unable to stick with the Rams as the New York squad outscored the Mount Saint Mary’s 5-3, 7-4 and 6-0 in the first-to-third quarters.
The Mountaineers closed the final gap to 10 goals prior to the concluding horn as the team outscored Fordham 4-3 over the final eight minutes to close within 21-11.
Tarr keyed Mount St. Mary’s with six strikes, while Nate Hopkins and Eli Thalos put away pairs. Chrysostomos Valavanis contributed a solo marker in support of a combined seven save effort by goalkeepers Joseph Maxson (four) and Hosni (three).
Information courtesy Mount St. Mary’s University Athletics Communications
