BRONX, N.Y. — With the high-flying offense of the Fordham University water polo team making the headlines over the first two months of the season, goalkeeper Bailey O’Mara showed that the Rams have playmakers on the back end as well, recording a season-best 15 saves in a 12-8 win over Wagner College in Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC-East Region play at home in the Col. Messmore Aquatic Center.
With the win, the Rams improve to 18-4 on the season, 6-0 in MAWPC action, while Wagner falls to 12-14 overall, 2-5 in the league.
After giving up an extra-man goal to start the game, the Rams answered with three straight goals from Hans Zdolsek, Lucas Nieto Jasny and Dimitris Koukias to take a 3-1 lead with 2:54 left in the first quarter.
Though Wagner closed within one by the end of the quarter, the Rams built the lead to two by halftime at 6-4 on the strength of goals from Christos Loupakis, George Papanikolaou and Nieto Jasny.
The Rams then scored the opening two goals of the third quarter to build their largest lead at 8-4, and maintained that four-goal lead to the end of the quarter at 10-6.
Papanikolaou’s third goal of the game at the 5:13 mark of the fourth quarter made it a five-goal lead, which Fordham did not relinquish, winning by a 12-8 score.
For Fordham, O’Mara was a brick wall for the Rams in net, making a season-high 15 saves to lead the team to victory. Nieto Jasny had a team-high four goals, while Papanikolaou had three tallies. Loupakis and Koukias each had two goals and an assist with the final marker from Zdolsek.
Release courtesy Fordham University Athletics Communications
