BRONX, N.Y. — For the first time since Helen Reddy’s “Delta Dawn” was the No. 1 song on the musical charts in 1973, the Fordham University men’s water polo team is 5-0 as the Rams survived a dog fight versus No. 15 Harvard University for a 16-15 victory at the Col. Francis B. Messmore Aquatic Center.
The contest went back and forth in the first quarter with the score tied at four with 1:15 left in the span, before Fordham picked up an extra-man goal by Marco Napolitano and a penalty shot goal by Luca Provenziani in the final minute for a 6-4 lead.
The Rams then built up to a 10-5 advantage in the second quarter for their largest lead of the game. However, Harvard scored twice to end the half and then scored the opening two goals in the third quarter to pull within one at 10-9.
The teams exchanged goals throughout the third quarter, leaving the score at 13-12 in favor of Fordham, entering the final eight minutes of regulation.
In the final frame, Andras Toth and George Papanikolaou each pumped in goals in the first few minutes to get the lead back to three, 15-12, with 5:10 left on the clock. Harvard cut the margin back to two at 15-13, but Toth got the Rams back to a three-goal edge with 3:30 remaining before the Crimson cut the lead to one with only 16 seconds left.
Fordham was able to hold out over the span of the final ticks for the 16-15 win.
Luca Silvestri had a team-best three goals on the day for Fordham, while Toth, Provenziani, Jacopo Parrella and Lucas Nieto Jasny each had a pair of markers. In goal, Thomas Lercari made eight saves in net to go with two assists and a steal.
Information courtesy Fordham University Athletics Communications
