LEWISBURG, Pa. — The No. 17-ranked Fordham University Rams closed out a 4-0 weekend at the Bucknell University Invitational by outlasting Wagner College, 12-11, in a Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) contest before doubling Salem University, 24-12.
Facing Wagner, the Rams and Seahawks were tied at nine-all in the third quarter before Jacopo Parrella and Nir Gross scored consecutive goals for defending MAWPC Champions to acquire an 11-9 lead.
Wagner closed the gap to one just before the end of the third quarter, but the Rams got a man-up goal from Christos Loupakis in the fourth quarter to regain a two score lead. The Seahawks again pulled to within one at 12-11 with 2:47 left.
However, Fordham held off the late charge, killed off a man-advantage opportunity with under 30 seconds to play and managed to hang on for a one-goal victory.
For Fordham, Gross and Parrella each tallied three goals in the match with Loupakis and Lucas Nieto Jasny both posting pairs. Curtis Vidinoff and Gabriel Melillo rounded out the scoring with single strikes.
The second match of the day saw Fordham explode for 15 goals over the final two quarters to overwhelm Salem.
With the halftime score at 9-8 in favor of the Rams, Fordham expanded its lead by scoring six times in the third quarter to Salem’s two in pulling ahead by a 15-10 count.
The defending league champions put an exclamation point on the match by swishing nine shots over the final eight minutes.
George Papanikolaou and Balazs Berenyi led the way with four goals each. Nieto Jasny, Mellilo and Victor Schultz added pairs.
In net, Thomas Lercari racked up 16 saves to go with two assists to stop Salem.
Information courtesy Fordham University Athletics Communications
