BRONX, N.Y. — No 19-ranked George Washington University defeated Division III No. 8 Johns Hopkins University, 15-5, in the quarterfinals of the 2022 Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) Championship hosted by Fordham University. The Colonials will now move on to the MAWPC Championship semifinals where they will face Bucknell University at 8;00 p.m. on Saturday, November 19.
It took both sides a couple of minutes to settle in, but after a scoreless first four minutes, GW found its game. Andrija Sekulic broke into the scoring at the 3:10 mark in the first quarter, and Antonin Kralj doubled the GW less than a minute after, forcing Johns Hopkins to take an early timeout. Just before the end of the first quarter, Michael Wheeler found the back of the net and gave GW a 3-0 lead.
The Buff and Blue opened the second quarter with Sekulic’s second goal of the night, which pushed the lead to four. Johns Hopkins broke its scoreless start to the game with just under six minutes to go in the second quarter, but it was the only goal GW goalkeeper Luca Castorina would give up in the first half. More GW goals piled on, coming from Nick Schroeder, Viktor Jovanovic, Theodoros Pateros, Ford Bruggen and Kralj as George Washington held a 9-1 advantage at the half.
From there, it was all Colonials, keeping the game out of arm’s reach for the entirety of the second half. It was 13-3 at the end of the third quarter, and the Colonials wrapped things up ahead, 15-5, to claim the team’s third victory over the Blue Jays following 23-8 and 16-11 wins during the regular season.
This is the second straight year that GW will make an appearance in the MAWPC semifinals. GW fell last season in its semifinal appearance to then No. 20/host the United States Naval Academy before edging Wagner College in the Third Place game.
Under Barry King, GW has finished third or better in every MAWPC tournament with First (2017, 2018), Second (2019) and Third (Winter 2021, 2021) Place marks. The team took also took Second Place under former head coach Adam Foley in the inaugural/2016 MAWPC Championship.
Release courtesy George Washington University Athletics Communications
