ANNAPOLIS, Md. –- The Wheaton College (Mass.) men's water polo team was defeated by Long Island University Brooklyn, 27-4, this afternoon in the Navy Open hosted by United States Naval Academy at Lejeune Hall in Annapolis, Md.
The Lyons slip to 0-4 on the season, while the Sharks improve to 1-7.
Sophomore two-meter defender Jack Ruggiero (Hamden, Conn.) led Wheaton with a pair of goals and three steals, while sophomore two-meter player Michael Ruemelin (Chicago, Ill.) and first year attacker Hudson Kosiba (Birmingham, Mich.) each tallied a score for the Lyons. Kosiba also added a theft. Sophomore goalie Dylan Boccali (Ventura, Calif.) stopped six shots for Wheaton.
First year center Lucas Ramirez (Huntington Beach, Calif.) paced the Sharks, netting five goals, while first year utility player Edward Carpenter (Bedford, England) added four markers and sophomore driver Jack French (Brisbane, Australia) netted three goals.
Ruggiero opened the game's scoring with a goal just 30 seconds into the match for the Lyons, before LIU went on a torrid 13-0 run, fueled by four Ramirez goals, to take a 13-1 advantage with 5:30 left in the second quarter. Ruemelin scored for Wheaton at the five-minute mark of the period, but first year attacker Maddex Thornton (Henderson, Nev.) netted the final goal of the first half to make it 15-2.
The Sharks tallied the first two goals of the third quarter, including a marker from senior attacker Derek Hanel (San Jose, Calif.) to increase the LIU cushion to 17-2. Kosiba recorded his first collegiate goal for the Lyons with 3:38 to play in the period. The Sharks scored the next eight goals, including a pair from Carpenter, to take a commanding 25-3 advantage with 2:41 remaining in the contest. Ruggiero scored Wheaton's final goal of the day with two minutes to play.
The Lyons return to play when they take on No. 8 Massachusetts Institute of Technology on Saturday, September 20 at 10:45 in the Bruno Invitational at host Brown University in Providence, R.I. LIU will play United States Air Force Academy on the same day at 11:20 a.m. in the Bucknell Invitational in Lewisburg, Pa.
