CONTRIBUTING WRITER

The Fordham men’s water polo team kicked off its season with a fantastic start this fall, finishing the Navy Invitational in Annapolis, Md. with a 3-1 record. The team had a strong start to the weekend with back to back wins on Saturday, beating Salem International 14-13 and Notre Dame College 18-4.

It was a fight to the finish against Salem. After Fordham led the whole game by two, Salem International tied it up at 13 with only 48 seconds left, in the match. Sophomore Mike Hay secured the win with 27 seconds left netting his fourth goal of the game, a new career high. Senior co-captain Nick Allen also set a career high with six goals in the match. Sophomore Andrew Gonzalez, with two goals, and sophomores Patrick Lenihan and Landon Kern, with one goal apiece, also contributed to the Rams’ victory. In goal, sophomore Patrick Harrigan and senior Eric Mullery each played a half; Harrigan had three saves and Mullery had seven.

After the close win against Salem, the Rams came out hot in game two against Notre Dame. With an 8-1 lead after the first half, they closed the game 18-4. Allen and sophomore Davis DeFontes led the match with four goals apiece. In goal, Mullery played two plus quarters and had two saves. He was followed by sophomore Sean Sullivan with one save and Harrigan with two.

Sunday ended with a .500 record. Fordham fell just short of a win against Navy, losing the game by only one goal (11-12). Down by two with two minutes to go, Ben Clinkinbeard netted one goal and the defense successfully held off Navy, earning one last possession and a chance to tie the game. However, they fell short. Lenihan led the team with five goals. In net, junior Noah LeBeau, in his first appearance of the year, saved a total of 10 shots, including two penalties and three steals.

The Rams persevered in their final game against Gannon and ended the weekend on a high note with a 10-7 victory. DeFontes scored four goals followed by Bobby Wurtz, Patrick Reyes, Allen, Clinkinbeard, Lenihan and Kern with one apiece. LeBeau was in goal again and had another great game with nine saves.

Head coach Bill Harris, in his 10th season at Fordham, is expecting big things from his team this season. With only one freshman and a new transfer, the team is getting into the groove of playing with each other.

“We have great leadership this year,” said Harris. “Allen is a top scorer and Clinkinbeard is the playmaker.”

Harris also mentioned another new addition to the team, assistant coach Brian Bacharach.

“He brings a good virility to the team and we’re very excited to have him,” Harris said.

Although these are out-of-conference invitationals, the team is building up good confidence for the conference opener against Harvard on Sept. 21. Next up for the Rams is the Bucknell Invitational on Sept. 14 and 15. The team will play Washington & Jefferson and Diablo Valley College on Saturday, followed by Mercyhurst and Bucknell on Sunday.