LOS ANGELES, Calif. – The ninth-seeded Wheaton College (Mass.) men's water polo team was defeated in a consolation game by number four seed Austin College, 20-3, this afternoon in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championship Tournament hosted by University of Los Angeles California at the Spieker Aquatics Center in Los Angeles, Calif.
The Lyons fall to 0-18 on the season, while the Kangaroos improve to 11-9. Wheaton will now take on eighth-seeded Washington & Jefferson College in a tournament re-match from yesterday in a second consolation game, while Austin will also play Washington & Jefferson tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. EST in the MPSF East third place game.
The 'Roos outshot the Lyons, 36-22 for the match.
First year utility player Jack Ruggiero (Hamden, Conn.) led Wheaton with a pair of goals and added two steals, while classmate Spyros Rapsomanikis (Kerkyra, Greece) scored a goal and came up with a game-high four steals to go with three draw exclusions. First year Josh Vander Wagen (Brookfield, Ill.) contributed with two steals, an assist and an earned exclusion. First year goalie Dylan Boccali (Ventura, Calif.) stopped eight shots.
Sophomore attacker Joshua Nelms (San Antonio, Texas) led all scorers with seven points, including six goals in addition to three steals for Austin. First year attacker Preston Fiala (Deer Park, Texas) tallied five points on three goals and two assists and also came up with three thefts. First year utility player Colin Stewart (San Antonio, Texas) netted a trio of goals and earned an exclusion. Sophomore goalie Christian Saravia (Richmond, Texas) stopped nine of 12 shots.
Rapsomanikis opened the game's scoring to give the Lyons a 1-0 lead 78 seconds into the contest. The Kangaroos dominated from that point forward, ripping off 16 unanswered goals, while holding Wheaton scoreless for the next 24:33 of play. Nelms scored four times, while Fiala scored all three of his markers to lead the offensive eruption for Austin.
Ruggiero stopped the Lyons' scoring drought with a marker at the 2:29 mark of the fourth quarter to make it 16-2. The 'Roos tallied the next four goals, including two more from Nelms, to take a commanding 20-2 advantage. Ruggiero netted the final goal of the day with 52 ticks left in the game to give Wheaton bookending scores for the match.
