By Betsy Boehler
Staff Writer
The Fordham water polo team faced Brown, Connecticut College and Iona in Cambridge, Mass. last week at the CWPA Northern Division Championship. The Rams split the first day of the weekend with a loss against third-seeded Brown and a win over Connecticut. In game one, senior Ben Clinkinbeard and junior Ori Raz both had two goals, while sophomore Patrick Lenihan had one, completing the scoring for the Rams. The team fell short and the game ended 9-5, Brown.
Despite the loss in the morning, Fordham came out strong in game two against Connecticut. The Rams’ goals came from across the board, with seven different players contributing to the 13-4 win. Raz led with three, followed by two apiece from senior Nick Allen, junior Eric Minowitz and sophomores Andrew Gonzalez and Peter Bergum. Lenihan and fellow sophomore Bobby Wurtz completed the scoring. Junior goalie Noah LeBeau had six saves and allowed two goals, while sophomores Patrick Harrigan and Sean Sullivan saw some action in net as well. Harrigan had two saves and an assist.
In the last game of the championship, Fordham lost to Iona in a nailbiter. The match went into overtime when the Rams tied the game at 10 in the fourth quarter after being down by four. However, in overtime the Gaels overcame the Rams and scored two goals to Fordham’s one. Allen and Raz each had three goals, and Lenihan and freshman R.J. Simmons had two, while Gonzalez had the final marker for Fordham. LeBeau had 10 saves in goal.
Ori Raz, the Rams’ top scorer, left the game with a shoulder injury, so it is unknown if he will be well enough for this coming weekend. “We don’t want to exacerbate the injury and potentially hurt his chances of healing by next season” Fordham head coach Bill Harris said.
Last Wednesday, the seeds for the CWPA Championship were announced. This year, the championship expanded to a 12-team tournament, leaving a number of at-large berths available. Luckily, the Rams were able to secure the final seed and will face their well-known opponent, Brown, in the first match.
Brown is seeded fifth overall in the tournament, but Fordham faced the Bears numerous times this season and is looking for a big upset on Friday. “It’s not what happened in the first quarter, it’s not what will happen at the end of the game, it’s about what’s happening in the moment,” Harris said.
This is Fordham’s third at-large berth in the past five seasons.
“I am happy to send the seniors out with a bang.” Harris said, “They haven’t made the tournament since their freshman year, so this is a nice way to go out.”
The top six teams were based on the top three teams from the Northern and Southern Championships, while the fourth and fifth place finishers were from the Southern Division and were mixed into the seeding with the at-large berths between numbers 7-12. The four at-large picks were the four best teams from the remaining 11 programs chosen by the Varsity Governance Council. The Rams will play Brown at Cambridge again Friday, Nov. 22.
