PRINCETON, N.J. — The No. 20-ranked Fordham University water polo team concluded its stay at the Princeton Invitational at Princeton University’s DeNunzio Pool by turning back No. 18 Harvard University, 14-10, and taking a 15-9 setback versus No. 6 Princeton.
Fordham – which defeated Harvard for the second time in three seasons with both programs ranked among the Top 20 – exploited a second half surge to clip the Crimson.
After each team scored twice in the opening quarter, the Rams netted five markers in the second quarter to take control of the match. Balazs Berenyi and Luca Silvestri scored two goals apiece in the frame with George Papanikolaou getting the other tally.
Harvard battled back within one at the end of the third quarter at 9-8. However, Papanikolaou scored the first two goals of the fourth quarter with Berenyi adding another to put Fordham ahead 12-8 with just over three minutes left. The Rams held on to that four-goal advantage to secure the win.
For Fordham, Berenyi and Papanikolaou led the attack with four goals each, while Silvestri and Barnabas Eppel had two apiece. Christos Loupakis and Paul Armingol had the remaining tallies for the Rams.
The nightcap was the featured match of the Invitational between the Rams and host Tigers as the game marked a rematch of the last two National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championship tournament’s First Round games pitting the Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) and Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC) champions.
The Tigers – which claimed both NCAA Championship play-in games – continued to have the Rams’ number by earning a six-goal win.
Fordham opened the scoring with a goal by Lucas Nieto Jasny, but three straight tallies by Princeton gave the Tigers a 3-1 edge. Gabriel Mellilo answered with a goal for Fordham in the final minute of the quarter to make it a 3-2 score after the first quarter.
Princeton extended its lead in the second quarter, posting all three goals in the eight-minute frame for a 6-2 halftime score.
Each team scored three times in the third quarter with the Tigers adding six goals in the final eight minutes to pick-up the win.
Fordham’s nine goals came from nine different players, highlighted by Papanikolaou having a goal and three assists, while Loupakis, Melillo, and Armingol each had a goal and an assist. Riccardo Di Giuseppe ended the match with five saves, including a penalty block, in net.
Information courtesy Fordham University Athletics Communications
