ERIE, Pa. — Scoring the first nine goals of the game, the Mount St. Mary’s University men’s water polo cruised to their first victory of the season by dominating Penn State Behrend, 21-6, on the road at the Junker Center.
Eli Thalos led the charge with six goals as he headlined a scoring barrage that included six multi-goal scorers and three hat tricks. Jason O’Donnell cemented his hat trick early, converting all his goals in the opening half. Freshman Zach Fischer obtained his first collegiate goal trio with 1:14 remaining, capping off the Mount’s goals for the evening.
Fischer and Jason Fitch started the outburst with goals in the first minute. Mount St. Mary’s led 7-0 after the opening salvo and managed to hold the Lions off the board for another three minutes before making their first concession with 4:41 left in the half.
Sitting comfortably at the break, the Mount held steady in the third quarter. They continued to pace ahead of the Lions, but by a 3-2 margin. The first career goal for Alex Hoy came with 6:43 to go, and Fischer’s final tally gave the Mount its largest advantage of 15 points.
Six Mountaineers had multi-assist efforts, with Nicholas Wallace-Whitfield adding three steals to his three assists. Nate Hopkins drew five exclusions and two penalties.
Goalkeeper Marko Kruska denied 16 of 22 shots on goal.
As a unit, the Mount made few errors with just six turnovers for the game.
Release courtesy Mount St. Mary’s University Athletics Communications
