CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Mac Berry (Fr., San Anselmo, Calif./Archie Williams) and Ilias Stothart (So., Los Angeles, Calif./Harvard Westlake) both scored four times to lead nine No. 20-ranked Brown University Bears that found the back of the cage with shots in a 20-11 victory over Iona University for Third Place at the 2023 Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC) Championship.
Competing at Harvard University’s Blodgett Pool, Brown (21-8 5-4 NWPC) dominated the game from the opening sprint to the closing horn by outscoring the Gaels (13-17, 5-6 NWPC) by count of 7-4, 5-1 and 4-2 in the first, second and third quarters, respectively, prior to the two programs keeping pace in the fourth quarter by burying four strikes apiece.
A five-time Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA)/Eastern Champion (1981, 1983-85, 2014) and six-time runner-up (1978, 1982, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990) prior to the formation of the NWPC, Brown adds a fourth NWPC Third Place finish to the team’s history as the squad previously finished Second (2016), Third (2017, 2019, 2021) and Fourth (2018, 2022).
Iona earns the programs’ all-time best finish at the NWPC Championship following earlier Fifth (2016, 2017, 2021, 2022) and Sixth (2018, 2019) Place marks. Further, it will mark the all-time best mark for the Gaels at either the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) or NWPC Championship since 2022 as the Gaels previously garnered Fifth (2002, 2003), Eighth (2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011), 11th (2014) and 12th (2013) place marks at the CWPA Championship.
The Bears never trailed in the game by opening up a 2-0 lead less than two minutes into the game prior to the Gaels responding to square the squads at two-all with 5:12 left on the first quarter clock. From there, Brown dominated the remainder of the opening frame by racking up a 5-2 scoring advantage to go ahead to stay at 7-4.
Brown cushioned its lead to 12-5 by halftime by outscoring Iona by a 5-1 count in the second quarter prior to pushing ahead by nine at 16-7 by the end of the third quarter on the way to a nine-goal victory.
For Brown, Berry and Stothart were joined in recording hat-tricks by Evan Moore (Sr., Ventura, Calif./Ventura) and Mate Tymcyna (Fr., Eger, Heves, Hungary/Neumann Janos Gimnazium). Trey Rogers (So., Manhattan Beach, Calif./Loyola) dropped in a pair with Jaxson Tierney (Sr., Sierra Madre, Calif./Harvard Westlake), Ramzi Megalli (Fr., Seattle, Wash./Seattle Academy), Goran Narancic (Fr., Zagreb, Croatia/XV Gymnasium Zagreb) and Gabe Chang (Jr., Seal Beach, Calif./Los Alamitos) slipping in solo strikes. Goalkeeper Joe Gallagher (Sr., Los Altos Hills, Calif./Saint Francis) stopped seven shot in earning the win.
James DiSalle (So., Toledo, Ohio/Saint Francis de Sales) and Luksa Vlasic (Jr., Fort Lauderdale, Fla./St. Thomas Aquinas) led Iona with hat-tricks. Edward Imm (Jr, Cincinnati, Ohio/Princeton) and Andrew Miller (Sr., Richmond, Texas/Foster) put away pairs with William Harrington (Jr., Costa Mesa, Calif./Costa Mesa) spinning in a solo strike.
Diego Gomez (Sr., San Juan, Puerto Rico/Cupeyville School) made one save in taking the loss for the Gaels.
| 1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | – | FINAL | |
| Iona University |
4 | 1 | 2 | 4 | – | 11 |
| No. 20 Brown University | 7 | 5 | 4 | 4 | – | 20 |
| Brown Goals: | Mac Berry (4); Ilias Stothart (4); Evan Moore (3); Mate Tymcyna (3); Trey Rogers (2); Jaxson Tierney; Ramzi Megalli; Goran Narancic; Gabe Chang | |||||
| Iona Goals: | James DiSalle (3); Luksa Vlasic (3); Edward Imm (2); Andrew Miller (2); William Harrington | |||||
| Saves: | Brown – Joe Gallagher (7) ; Iona – Diego Gomez (1) | |||||
| Exclusions: | Brown – 16 ; Iona – 12 | |||||
| Advantage Opportunities: | Brown – 6-for-12 ; Iona – 4-for-16 | |||||
| Sprints: | Brown – 4-for-4 ; Iona – 0-for-4 | |||||
| Cards/Misconducts: | Brown – ; Iona – YC (Head coach Brian Kelly, 1:48 left in 2nd Q), MAM (Coby Scanlon, 7:55 left in 3rd Q) | |||||
| Officials: | Alex Larin, Jim Lewis | |||||
Brown University’s Mate Tymcyna (#2)
Iona University’s Luksa Vlasic (#9) lines up a shot as Brown University’s Evan Moore (#13) defends
