Fordham Water Polo increased their winning streak to 11 games with a double header sweep on Saturday. Picking up two more conference wins, the Rams once again flexed their muscles at home. 

Fordham kicked off Saturday’s action with a matchup against Bucknell University. Recently ranked fourth in the Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) polls, Bucknell had proven itself as a tough conference opponent this season. 

Fordham dominated to start, holding a 7-2 lead after the first half, but Bucknell came roaring back in the second half, cutting the lead down to 11-10 midway through the fourth quarter. Back-to-back goals from sophomore Luca Silvestri gave the Rams a late 13-10 lead. Bucknell surged once again, cutting the lead down to one with a minute to play, but the Rams held strong defensively for the 13-12 win.

Silvestri netted five goals, tying his season-high mark that he set two weeks ago against George Washington University. Silvestri wasn’t the only sophomore to make an impact, as Lucas Nieto Jasny netted a hat trick while Jacopo Parrella posted four points behind a pair of goals and assists. Sophomore goalkeeper and reigning MAWPC Defensive Player of the Week Thomas Lercari played well once again, making 10 saves with a huge penalty block as the Rams held on to sweep Bucknell in the season series.

In the second match of the day, Fordham cruised to a 23-7 win over Mount St. Mary’s University. Taking a 8-1 lead after one quarter of play, the Rams’ offense was sharp as ever in the blowout win, tallying 23 goals for the second time in three weeks. Silvestri and Nieto Jasny led the way once again, each notching four goals and an assist. It was a total effort for the offense as 13 different Rams scored a goal. Freshman Balazs Berenyi was among the many goal scorers, notching his 40th of the season. It’s been an impressive season for Berenyi, who ranks third on the team in goals.

The stars of the weekend were undoubtedly Silvestri and Nieto Jasny, who notched nine and eight goals respectively in just two games. It’s a bit of a relief to see these two get more active in the scoring for Fordham. As a transfer from Westcliff University, Silvestri needed a little adjustment period to get acquainted with the system. It seems now that he’s adjusted just fine. Silvestri entered play two weeks ago with 19 goals on the season. He’s doubled that now, scoring 19 goals in the last five games alone. 

Nieto Jasny has been a top-three points scorer all year for the Rams, but his goal scoring has taken a dip from last year. After tallying 66 markers last year, good for second on the team, Nieto Jasny has struggled to score at the same clip this year, despite still being a very productive offensive player. He’s seen his scoring rise the last two weeks as well, scoring 13 goals over five games. 

The offense in general is in a super great spot as the Rams near tournament play. Last year, Fordham had five players score 30 goals or more. This year, Fordham already has seven players that have reached the 30 goal mark: Parrella (57), sophomore George Papanikolaou (41), Berenyi (40), Nieto Jasny (39), Silvestri (38), Loupakis (38) and graduate student Nir Gross (34). That number may grow even larger come seasons end. 

One of the criticisms you could make about the Rams last year was that they were a bit top heavy scoring wise. The freshman trio of Parrella, Papanikolaou and Nieto Jasny accounted for almost half of the scoring while Loupakis and Hans Zdolsek were major scorers as well. This year, Fordham has an array of elite scoring talent. It’s evenly distributed and will give opposing coaches headaches as they try to scheme against this group. 

With the pair of wins, Fordham adds two more conference sweeps to their season record. They remain undefeated at home (6-0) and in conference play (13-0). Only five games remain in the regular season. Next up for the Rams is a Wednesday matchup with localrival Iona College in the annual Judge Cup. After that, they’ll be on the road this weekend to take on George Washington, Navy and Johns Hopkins University. It’s by no means an easy schedule, but Fordham remains up to the task.