NORTON, Mass. — First year utility player Spyros Rapsomanikis (Kerkyra, Greece) netted the first goal in program history and the Wheaton College (Mass.) men's water polo team owned a shot advantage in its first-ever match, but succumbed to visiting Austin College, 26-12, this afternoon at Balfour Natatorium on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass. The game was part of the Bruno Classic, co-hosted by Brown University.
The Lyons dip to 0-1, while the Kangaroos improve to 2-2.
The contest was the first-ever men's water polo match ever played by Wheaton after the school announced the addition of the sport in August 2022.
First year goalie Dylan Boccali (Ventura, Calif.), Rapsomanikis, sophomore utility player Connor Tompkins (Oakley, Calif.), first year attacker Tristan Harrington (Mason, Ohio), first year 2-meter defender Jack Ruggiero (Hamden, Conn.), first year 2-meter defender Josh Vander Wagen (Brookfield, Ill.) and Michael Ruemelin (Chicago, Ill.) all had their names called as the first starting seven in school history with first year attacker Jared Safren (Miami, Fla.) and senior Hugh Gregg (Portsmouth, N.H.) playing key minutes down the stretch.
Rapsomanikis scored with 1:11 showing on the first quarter clock to mark the first-ever goal in program annals.
Austin opened the match with a 6-1 margin after the first quarter of play, before the Lyons kept the deficit to a reasonable six goals after putting three markers on the board in the second quarter. The 'Roos pulled away with a 9-5 and 7-3 goal-differential in the final two quarters of play. Wheaton outshot Austin, 46-42 in the match.
Rapsomanikis led Wheaton with five goals. His goal total stands as the early school record after the Lyons' first-ever contest. Ruggiero totaled a team-high six points with four goals and two assists, while sophomore utility player Connor Tompkins (Oakley, Calif.) netted a trio of goals and added three steals. Boccali turned away five shots for Wheaton.
Sophomore center Sebastian Scheier (La Palma, Calif.) netted a game-high six goals to lead the 'Roos. Junior attacker Jack Stack (Concord, Calif.) netted five goals and added an assist for Austin, while junior attacker Aidan Wade (Flower Mound, Texas) tallied a game-high seven points, including four goals. First year goalie Caleb Maddox (Mesquite, Texas) stopped six of 10 shots in the first half, before yielding to Christian Saravia (Richmond, Texas), who made a save on nine shots on frame in the second half.
The 'Roos netted the first six goals of the game, including two from Stack.
Rapsomanikis put the Lyons on the board with 71 seconds left in the opening quarter.
Wheaton carried its momentum into the second quarter with Tompkins scoring with 6:08 to go in the period, before Rapsomanikis pulled the Lyons to within 6-3 with his second goal at 4:59 of the quarter.
Wade answered for Austin with back-to-back goals, before first year center defender Carlos Camarena (Houston, Texas) netted a goal to give the 'Roos a 9-3 margin. Rapsomanikis and Scheier traded goals in a span of 10 seconds before the close of the first half to set the score at 10-4, in favor of the visitors.
Like the second quarter, Wheaton was the first team to strike in the new period behind a marker from Rapsomanikis just 32 seconds into the quarter to cut the deficit to 10-5 for the home team.
Austin began to pull away with five of the next six goals, capped by a score from Wade to increase the 'Roos lead to 15-6 with 2:30 to play in the quarter. Tompkins, Ruggiero and Rapsomanikis all found the back of the net for the remainder of the quarter, but Austin answered with multiple goals following each Wheaton goal. Junior attacker Nicholas Bates (Alvin, Texas) pushed the 'Roos advantage to 19-8 with 24 ticks left on the clock. Ruggiero snuck another marker in for the Lyons with just four seconds left in the quarter to make it 19-9 after three quarters of play.
Wheaton scored three times in the fourth quarter, including a pair of goals from Ruggiero, but Austin answered each Lyon goal with two of its own to come away with the 26-12 victory. Stack and Scheier each netted a pair of markers to pace the final quarter for the 'Roos.
