BRONX, N.Y. — The East Coast powerhouse match-up between defending Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) Champion/No. 9-ranked Fordham University and Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC) Champion/No. 7 Princeton University lived up to all the billing at the Col. Francis B. Messmore Aquatic Center, as Fordham’s Luca Provenziani scored five times to lead the Rams to a 12-9 victory over the Tigers.
The win improved Fordham to 10-0 on the season, and stands as the highest ranked opponent win in team history.
After an even first quarter at 2-2 all, Fordham found a groove with the man advantage, getting goals from Jacopo Parrella and Provenziani to go ahead 5-3 with 4:19 left in the second quarter. Princeton answered with two goals to tie the game at five, but the Rams once again scored with the man-up opportunity, as Andras Toth put the Rams up 6-5. Barnabas Eppel netted another Fordham marker in the final minute to give the team a 7-5 lead at halftime.
The Tigers opened the third quarter with the first two goals to tie the game at seven. Provenziani and Luca Silvestri built the Rams’ lead back to two at 9-7 with back-to-back tallies before a final goal by Princeton put the score at 9-8, heading into the final quarter.
The game stayed that way until Provenziani netted his third goal of the game with 4:15 left to put Fordham back up by two. He would score twice more in the final minutes for the 12-9 final.
For Fordham, Provenziani led the way with five goals and an assist, while George Papanikolaou had two goals, two assists, and the game-ending steal in the final seconds. Balazs Berenyi added a goal and an assist with Silvestri having a goal, two assists and two steals.
In net, Thomas Lercari notched 12 saves and an assist in the winning effort.
For Princeton, Luke Johnston and Logan McCarroll posted pairs of markers with George Caras, Finn LeSieur, Gavin Molloy, Tas Palcza and Ádám Peocz tossing in solo strikes.
Kristóf Kovács made six saves in taking the loss.
Information courtesy Fordham University & Princeton University Athletics Communications
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPTQylz7tf0
