WASHINGTON, Pa. — The Washington & Jefferson College men’s water polo team opened the 2021 season with a pair of wins Saturday at the annual Washington & Jefferson College Invitational as the Presidents handled Penn State Behrend, 19-8, and the Michigan State University “B” club team, 12-7. W&J fell to the MSU “A” club team by a 13-12 score in overtime.
Facing perennial Western Pennsylvania nemesis Penn State Behrend, the Presidents rolled past the Lions of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) by a 19-8 score. Andrew Edwards (Columbus, Ohio/St. Charles Prep) tallied a team-high four goals in the wire-to-wire season-opening victory.
W&J opened strong as they built a 6-0 lead after the first quarter before carrying an 11-6 advantage into halftime. The Presidents then outscored the Lions by a 5-1 edge in the third quarter to put the match away. W&J then tacked on three more goals in the fourth to punctuate the victory.
Will Kitsch (Mohnton, Pa./Governor Mifflin) and Cam Spicer (Lansing, Mich./East Lansing) notched three goals each to add to a balanced offensive attack.
Caine Dusza (Souderton, Pa./Souderton) made seven saves to earn the victory in net.
Facing the Michigan State “B” team, the Presidents started slower before eventually building a 3-1 lead after the first quarter. W&J tacked on four of the five second quarter goals to extend its lead to 7-2 at halftime. MSU used five goals in the third quarter to cut the deficit to 9-7. However, the Red & Black tallied all three goals in the fourth to finish off the victory.
Kitsch led the Presidents with four goals and three steals in game two. Mitchell Rubio (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny) accounted for three goals in the victory. Dusza performed well again in the cage, as he recorded 10 saves.
Taking on the Spartans “A” team in the day’s finale, neither the Presidents nor the Spartans led by more than three goals.
A low scoring first quarter saw W&J acquire a 2-1 lead on the way to a 5-4 lead by halftime.
W&J appeared poised for a third victory, as they used a 5-3 run in the third to take a three-goal advantage (10-7) heading into the final eight minutes of regulation. However, Michigan State tallied five of the seven goals in the fourth quarter to force a sudden death overtime session in which the Spartans posted the game-winner.
Edwards registered his second hat trick of the day with three goals in the finale of the weekend. Kitsch and Spicer added two goals each, while Dusza made 13 saves in net.
Information courtesy Washington & Jefferson College Athletics Communications
