STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — The Wagner College men’s water polo team played host to a three-game home stand over the weekend at the Spiro Aquatic Center with a loss to Mount St. Mary’s University, 15-14, and victories over Bucknell University, 15-14, and Mercyhurst University, 19-10.
On Saturday, October 17, Mount St. Mary’s came out firing in the opening frame. Junior captain Smith Connors got Wagner on the board almost midway through the opening quarter before senior Vince Varga and senior captain Patrick Ray each added tallies to keep the Green & White right on the Mountaineers’ heels after eight minutes.
Both offenses found their rhythm in the second quarter as the squads traded goals with a four score output by the Mount and a three goal string for Wagner. Connors buried a shot to keep the Seahawks within striking distance, while sophomore Landon Castillo and junior Matan Friedenberg each found the back of the net. Wagner entered the halftime intermission trailing 9-7.
After coming out of halftime, Mount St. Mary’s transition game outscored Wagner in a hard-fought third quarter. Connors led the charge with a pair of goals in the frame, while Friedenberg delivered a clutch finish to make it a 13-10 contest heading into the final eight minutes.
The Seahawks registered a fourth-quarter comeback attempt by locking down defensively and outscoring the Mountaineers 4-2. Connors kept going by netting one more goal to bring his tally to five in the morning. Friedenberg completed a hat trick while sophomore Kelly Murphy scored two key goals down the stretch before the Mount managed to run out the final clock seconds to hold on for a 15-14 victory.
For Wagner, Connors (six), Friedenberg (three), Murphy (two), Castillo, Ray and Varga combined for the team’s 14 markers.
Taking on Bucknell later in the day, the Seahhawks fell behind early as the Biso struck first in the opening minutes. However, Wagner answered with a penalty goal from freshman Harry Colley and another strike courtesy sophomore Weston Swank. The Bison matched the Seahawks’ pace with a late advantage goal to lead 3-2 after the first eight minutes of play.
The offense erupted for both squads in a fast paced second quarter. Castillo had back-to-back goals, while Murphy, sophomore Nadav Carmon and sophomore Matt Wedlock each found the back of the net. Wagner tried to match Bucknell goal-for-goal as the Bison held a 9-7 lead entering halftime.
The Green & White’s attack continued to perform out of the break as Friedenberg took control of the quarter, burying three consecutive goals to put his team ahead. Senior Gabe Johnson added his first tally of the afternoon and Castillo scored again to knot the contest at 12-all following three quarters of back-and-forth battles.
In the fourth quarter, Murphy added one more goal and Connors deposited a pair to provide the difference as Wagner eluded the Bison 15-14.
Friedenberg (three), Castillo (three), Murphy (two), Connors (two), Wedlock, Swank, Colley, Johnson and Carmon combined to power the Seahawks to a league victory.
Squaring off with Mercyhurst on Sunday, October 18, Wagner overcame an early Lakers’ lead to garner another win.
Connors answered the call to get the Seahawks on the board, followed shortly by a goal from Colley and back-to-back tallies from Friedenberg to close out the first quarter and acquire a 4-2 lead after the first eight minutes.
The Seahawks outscored the Lakers by a 5-2 count in the second quarter to begin putting the contest away. Carmon, sophomore Jonah Aguilera and Varga all netted solo strikes prior to Connors and Friedenberg pumping home heaves to build Wagner’s advantage to 9-4 heading into halftime.
Mercyhurst attempted to mount a response coming out of the break, but the Green & White kept attacking. Castillo notched his first goal of the contest, while Aguilera and Varga added their second. Senior Maayan Nahari connected on his first goal of the day in staking Wagner to a 13-8 margin through three quarters of play.
Wagner iced the win in the fourth quarter by erupting for five goals led by a pair from Ray notched in rolling to a 19-10 win.
Friedenberg (three), Aguilera (three), Connors (three), Varga (two), Ray (two), Carmon (two), Colley, Johnson, Castillo and Nahari combined for the Seahawks’ offense.
Information courtesy Wagner College Athletics Communications
