ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Rade Joksimovic (So., Novi Sad, Serbia/Gimnazija Jovan Jovanovic Zmaj) posted a hat-trick to claim Player of the Game honors as No. 16-ranked Bucknell University outlasted No. 20 Fordham University, 10-9, in the Third-Place game of the 2017 Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) Championship at the United States Naval Academy’s Lejeune Hall.
For Bucknell (19-12, 10-0 MAWPC-East Region), which previously defeated Fordham (18-12, 6-4 MAWPC-East Region) by scores of 9-8 in overtime at home in Lewisburg and 8-6 on November 5 in the Bronx during MAWPC-East Region regular season play, the third meeting with the Rams was another nail-biter.
Cooper Dolan (So., San Juan Capistrano, Calif./JSerra Catholic) put the Bison ahead at 1-0 with 4:01 left in the first quarter prior to Tristen Knoflick (So., Concord, Calif./De La Salle) posting the equalizer at 3:04 to deadlock the teams at one-all after a quarter of play.
The Bison gained the lead for good in the second quarter as Matt Blackwell (Fr., Davis, Calif./Davis) and Joksimovic put away shots at 7:01 and 4:27, respectively, to make it 3-1.
Cameron Shewchuck (Sr., Glenview, Ill./Loyola Academy) responded at 2:09 to move Fordham back within one at 3-2, but Cullen Jacuzzi (So., Orinda, Calif./Campolindo) pushed the margin back to a pair at 4-2 by drilling in a shot at the 1:50 mark.
The teams continued to trade shots and goals over the remaining time in the first half as Jake Miller-Tolt (So., Manhattan Beach, Calif./Mira Costa) racked up a man-up goal (1:15) prior to Joksimovic tacking on his second strike of the frame to make it 5-3 in favor of the Bison by intermission.
Fordham trimmed its deficit back to one (5-4) 44 seconds into the third quarter as Ian Watson (Jr., Upper Arlington, Ohio/Upper Arlington) punched in a score at the 7:16 mark. However, Bucknell ticked off back-to-back-to-back goals with a five-meter penalty shot by Joksimovic (6:16), an even-strength tally by Cole Donnelly (Jr., Larkspur, Calif./Redwood) (3:07) and an advantage conversion by Tommy Stupp (Sr., St., Louis, Mo./Mary Institute/St. Louis Country Day School) (1:27) to double-up the Rams 8-4.
The lead shrank to 8-5 prior to the final buzzer of the third quarter as Miller-Tolt torqued in a score with 42 seconds left, but Jeff Hagen (Sr., West Chester, Pa./Malvern Prep) got the goal back 27 seconds into the fourth quarter to hold a 9-5 lead.
Facing a four-goal deficit, Fordham began to chip away at the Bison’s scoreboard advantage as Massimiliano Mirachi (Gr., Rome, Italy/Lico Scientifico Torricelli) ripped in a man-up opportunity with 5:27 to go in the game before Miller-Tolt wrapped up a hat-trick at 1:56 to move the Rams within 9-7.
Stupp stuffed in a man-up chance at 1:14 for Bucknell’s eventual game-winning goal as Phillip Wang (Fr., San Jose, Calif./Bellarmine College Prep) (56 seconds) and Mirachi (21 seconds) shaved Fordham’s deficit down to one at 10-9.
However, the Bison ran out the clock to prevent Fordham from acquiring a tying look.
For Bucknell, Stupp added two goals to join Joksimovic in posting multi-score games, while Blackwell, Schofield, Hagen, Jacuzzi and Dolan each contributed single markers.
In cage, Charlie Niehaus (Sr., Los Altos, Calif./Mountain View) stopped six shots to take the win, with Fordham’s Alex Jahns (Sr., Greenwich, Conn./Greenwich) taking the loss with eight stops.
Miller-Tolt led the way for the Rams with a hat-trick. Mirachi chipped in a pair with Knoflick, Shewchuck, Wang and Watson each finding the back of the cage once.
| 1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | – | FINAL | |
| No. 20 Fordham University | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | – | 9 |
| No. 16 Bucknell University | 1 | 4 | 3 | 2 | – | 10 |
| Bucknell Goals: | Rade Joksimovic (3); Tommy Stupp (2); Matt Blackwell; Logan Schofield; Jeff Hagen; Cullen Jacuzzi; Cooper Dolan | |||||
| Fordham Goals: | Jake Miller-Tolt (3); Massimiliano Mirachi (2); Tristen Knoflick; Cameron Shewchuck; Phillip Wang; Ian Watson | |||||
| Saves: | Bucknell – Charlie Niehaus (6) ; Fordham – Alex Jahns (8) | |||||
| Exclusions: | Bucknell – 5 ; Fordham – 9 | |||||
| Advantage Opportunities: | Bucknell – 3-for-9 ; Fordham – 2-for-5 | |||||
| Sprints: | Bucknell – 2-for-4 (3rd, 4th) ; Fordham – 2-for-4 (1st, 2nd) | |||||
| Cards/Misconducts: | YC – Fordham (Head coach Bill Harris, 6:17 left in 2nd Q); YC – Bucknell (Head coach John McBride, 5:40 left in 4th Q) | |||||
| Officials: | Hadi Farid, Michael Schofield | |||||
Photo 1: Bucknell University’s Rade Joksimovic (#22) rises to shoot as Fordham University’s Joseph Agabs (#20) defends; Photo 2: Fordham University’s Cole Donnelly (#12) tries to get a pass over Bucknell University’s Rade Joksimovic (#22); Photo 3: Bucknell University’s Cullen Jacuzzi (#7) looks for an open man as Fordham University’s Joseph Agabs (#4) defends; Photo 4: Fordham University’s Massimiliano Mirachi (#2) cocks to shoot as Bucknell University’s Matt Blackwell (315) and Jared Stanley (#9) defend; Photo 5: Bucknell University accepts the Third Place award
