ERIE, Pa. -- The Washington & Jefferson College men's water polo team traveled to Gannon University to compete in the Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference Western Region Championships.
The Presidents earned the No. 5 seed in the six-team event, the Presidents squared off with top-seeded McKendree and fourth-seeded Mercyhurst in day one action. The Presidents dropped a back and forth high scoring contest by a 25-24 score on Sunday to Salem University.
Saturday, Feb. 27 - McKendree 26, W&J 9
McKendree held a 5-3 advantage through the first four minutes of the contest, but the Bearcats scored five-consecutive goals over the final 3:32 to take control of the matchup. McKendree scored at least five goals in each of the last three frames while W&J was limited to six goals the rest of the way.
Andrew Edwards (Columbus, Ohio/St. Charles Prep) led the W&J effort with six points (four goals, two assists).
Chris Edwards (Columbus, Ohio/St. Charles Prep) scored twice for the Presidents.
Will Kitsch (Mohnton, Pa./Governor Mifflin),
Robert Niino (Madera, Calif./Madera) and
Ryan Bannon (Broomfield, Colo./Broomfield) each tallied a goal.
Zishuo Ma (Los Alamitos, Calif./Los Alamitos) registered three saves in net.
Saturday, Feb. 27 - Mercyhurst 17, W&J 12
W&J outscored Mercyhurst 4-3, but the Lakers responded with a 7-2 second quarter that would be the difference in the game. In the second half, W&J was not able to get closer than a three-goal deficit as Mercyhurst outscored W&J 7-6 in the final 16 minutes.
Kitsch had four goals and one assist.
Chris Edwards had one goal and three assists. Bannon scored twice and dished a pair of assists.
Andrew Edwards and
David Boyer (York, Pa./Central York) each scored twice.
Kyle Rubenstein (Abington, Pa./Upper Dublin) and
Tyler Francis (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) both had a goal. Francis also made a pair of saves in the fourth quarter.
Alex Lee (Los Angeles, Calif./Eagle Rock) served as the W&J goalkeeper for the first three quarters and made four saves.
Sunday, Feb. 28 - Salem 25, W&J 24
W&J suffered a tough 25-24 setback to Salem University in the fifth place game on Sunday morning. The 49 goals were the most combined goals in a MAWPC-West Championship tournament game. The 49 combined goals were the most in a W&J match since at least 2005.
The Presidents built an 8-5 lead after the first quarter. However, Salem outscored W&J by a 9-5 margin in the second to take a 14-13 lead at half. W&J was able to regain momentum and grab a 20-19 lead heading into the fourth. A goal by Kitsch gave W&J a 22-21 edge with 3:14 to play. However, Salem countered with three straight over the next 1:56 of action to take a 24-22 advantage. A score by
Mitchell Rubio (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny) brought W&J within one with 30 seconds left. Salem was able to maintain possession and run out the clock for victory.
Bannon fired home six goals to pace W&J in the loss. Rubio had a team-best eight points (4 goals, 4 assists) while Kitsch found the back of the net five times. Boyer scored a pair of goals and two assists before switching to goal, where he made five saves. Rubenstein registered the other multi-goal effort for the Presidents.
W&J was just 2-of-9 on power play opportunities while Salem converted 9-of-14 extra-man chances. W&J held a 44-39 edge in shots.
