PALO ALTO, Calif. — No. 16-ranked Fordham University fell in both of the institution’s matches on the second day of the 2022 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Invitational hosted by Stanford University. The defending Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) Champion Rams dropped a 13-12 decision to No. 13 University of California-Irvine in the programs’ opening match of the day prior to Fordham taking a 10-5 setback against Santa Clara University in the nightcap.
Fordham was in control during the team’s first match of the day against UC-Irvine as the Rams led 12-8 in the fourth quarter. However, the Anteaters scored five times in the final five minutes to sneak away with a 13-12 decision.
The Rams led 3-2 after the first quarter following a goal by Lucas Nieto Jasny with nine seconds left in the frame.
The Anteaters flipped the scoreboard advantage by halftime with a 5-4 advantage, but a six-goal third quarter left Fordham with a 10-8 advantage. In the third, Luca Silvestri, Nacho Ariste and Balazs Berenyi each scored twice.
Fordham extended the lead to 12-8 in the fourth quarter, as Berenyi and George Papanikolaou both posted markers to begin the final eight minutes of regulation. Unfortunately for the Rams, UC-Irvine closed the gap to 12-10 and then scored three more times with an extra-man advantage to wrap up the 13-12 win.
For Fordham, Berenyi and Silvestri each netted a hat trick with Papanikolaou and Ariste having two goals apiece. Nieto Jasny and Jacopo Parrella rounded out the Rams’ scoring.
In net, Thomas Lercari stopped six shots and handed out an assist.
Similar to the Rams’ first match, Fordham started out well, leading Santa Clara, 4-2, at halftime, but the Broncos netted eight straight goals in the second half to take the match by a 10-5 count.
In that match, Silvestri scored twice with Jason Hiremath, Parrella and Mark Katsev also finding the back of the cage.
Information courtesy Fordham University Athletics Communications
