By Anthony Ali
The water polo team headed to Lewisburg, Pennsylvania this weekend to continue the momentum from a strong showing at the Navy Invitational last weekend. Going 3-1 in that tournament, the Rams sought to match that record or improve it at this weekend’s Bucknell Invitational against a group of tough opponents consisting of George Washington, University of Toronto, Washington & Jefferson and the host, Bucknell.
The Rams suffered an early stumbling block against George Washington in their opener. With each team scoring twice in the opening quarter, the Rams managed to open up a lead, allowing them to go into halftime with a 5-3 lead. In the second half, the Colonials would manage to cut their deficit to one, by netting three goals in the third quarter to Fordham’s two. With the score at 7-6, the Rams conceded two goals in the final quarter of play, ultimately leading to the loss. Juniors Davis DeFontes and Patrick Lenihan each bagged two goals, while juniors Patrick Reyes and Andrew Gonzalez, along with sophomore R.J. Simmons, rounded out the scoring with one apiece. Senior Noah LeBeau, having earned his third Collegiate Water Polo Association Northern Division Defensive Player of the Week award, posted 10 saves.
In its second match, Fordham rallied from its tough loss to cruise to an easy 10-3 victory against Toronto. Ending the first quarter of the game tied at 1-1, the Rams snapped the deadlock in an emphatic fashion by scoring the next six goals. Simmons would lead the scoring for the team, snagging three goals. Senior Eric Minowitz and junior Mike Hay added two each, with DeFontes, junior Landon Kern and junior Peter Bergum registering goals as well. LeBeau made four saves before being subbed out for junior goalkeeper Patrick Harrigan, who made a stop of his own in the fourth quarter.
Going into Day Two of competition, the Rams came up against Washington & Jefferson in the morning session, trouncing them 14-3. Starting off hot, they impressively netted six goals in the first quarter, each of which was scored by a different player. The Rams would later double that lead, adding two in the second quarter and another four in the third. They would add another pair of goals in the fourth quarter to complete the rout. Hay scored three goals to lead the team, while Minowitz, Simmons and freshman Cameron Shewchuck hit the back of the net twice. Gonzalez, Reyes and Bergum would continue their scoring runs by getting one each, with junior Bobby Wurtz and freshman Andrew Vandeventer getting in on the act as well. LeBeau would go on to get another seven saves in the first half, with Harrigan making three saves in one quarter of action. Freshmen Alex Jahns and Bryce Charles would split the final quarter of play in net with the former making one save.
In the afternoon session, the Rams would go on to make history against a strongly favored Bucknell side, earning their first win in 33 years against Bucknell in a thrilling sudden death encounter. Fordham started off strong, with Gonzalez scoring twice in the first half and Simmons netting another to give Fordham a 3-1 lead at halftime. Minowitz and Simmons would add goals in the third quarter, widening their lead to 5-2. Bucknell would rally to pull themselves within one, making the score 5-4. Gonzalez then added his third goal of the match to make it 6-4, before two goals from Jeff Hagen of Bucknell forced extra time.
With neither team able to find the back of the net in three sessions of overtime, the game was forced into a sudden death period. Following what could have been a foul call against the Rams, Fordham quickly made their way down the pool where Bergum would draw a foul. As Bucknell coach John McBride expressed his displeasure with the call by throwing his water bottle, Lenihan would find Vandeventer off of the restart and the freshman would find the back of the net with his quick shot.
The Rams would be led in scoring by Gonzalez, who bagged another three goals, with Simmons netting two and Minowitz netting one in addition to Vanderventer’s game winning goal. LeBeau made a phenomenal 15 saves and three steals, justifying his Defensive Player of the Week award.
For Fordham, LeBeau continues to be a commanding presence in goal and seems to be continuing his exceptional form from his junior year. Despite temporarily losing Minowitz to a bloody nose, the Rams seem to be in good shape for their conference openers on Saturday, Sept. 20. The Rams start conference play with a double header against Connecticut College (0-2) at 1 p.m. and then against Brown (6-3) at 7 p.m. A stream for the Brown game can be found on the Ivy League Digital Network.
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Anthony Ali is a Staff Writer for The Fordham Ram.