BRONX, N.Y. — No. 5-ranked Fordham University picked up a pair of home wins by defeating No. 9/defending Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC) Champion Princeton University, 16-14, in a non-conference matchup prior to sinking No. 15 the United States Naval Academy, 16-13, in a Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) contest at the Col. Francis B. Messmore Aquatic Center.
With the wins, Fordham improves to 14-1 overall on the season, 5-0 in the MAWPC.
In the first match of the day, junior Andras Toth led the Fordham offense with five goals and three assists, while junior Luca Provenziani added two goals and five assists to help the Rams take down the Tigers.
The score was tied at three after the first eight minutes before goals by Toth and freshman Karlo Dragosevic gave the Rams a 5-3 lead 1:12 into the second quarter.
The Fordham lead alternated between one and two goals the rest of the first half with the Rams taking a 9-7 lead at the break thanks to a goal from freshman Oktavian Veklyuk at the halftime buzzer.
Fordham increased its lead to 10-7, on a Petar Kulas goal early in the third quarter, but Princeton outscored the Rams, 4-1, the rest of the quarter to knot the game at eleven-all.
Goals from Toth, Provenziani and Dragosevic to open the fourth quarter gave the Rams a 14-11 lead, before Princeton pulled within 15-14 with 1:35 on the clock. However, a late strike by Kulas gave the Rams some cushion and a 16-14 win.
In game two, sophomore Alessandro Salipante scored three times and Provenziani added three goals and two assists to lead Fordham in docking Navy.
The Rams led 3-1 after the first quarter with two of the goals coming from Salipante and managed to take a 7-5 lead at the break.
Fordham increased its lead to 10-5 in the second half and claimed a 14-7 lead with 5:32 left in the contest. The Midshipmen attempted to rally back before falling by a 16-13 margin.
Freshman goalkeeper Viktor Savic made seven saves against Princeton and nine versus Navy to post a pair of victories.
The Fordham-Princeton game marked the 23rd meeting between the Rams and Tigers. The Black and Orange lead the all-time series between the teams at 20-5 with Fordham taking the past four meetings.
Further, the late game marked the 39th time Fordham and Navy have met with the Rams leading the series, 23-16, tanks to winning the last 14 meetings.
The wins increase Fordham’s home winning streak to 36 matches, dating back to 2022. In addition, the Rams have a 59-match MAWPC winning streak in regular season matches dating back to the 2021 season.
Release courtesy Fordham University Athletics Communications
