BALTIMORE, Md. - The Wheaton College (Mass.) men's water polo team made the trip down south to the campus of Johns Hopkins for their weekend of Mountain Pacific Sports Federation play in Baltimore. The Lyons dropped their first game of the weekend to Pennsylvania State University Behrend, 20-9, despite a pair of goals by junior
Michael Ruemelin (Chicago, Ill.)
Wheaton fell to 1-9 overall and 0-1 in the MPSF following the loss. Penn State Behrend improved to 4-6 overall and 1-0 in the MPSF.
Ruemelin finished with two goals and added a pair of assists to lead the team offensively. Sophomore
Bray Turner (Dallas, Texas) had two goals on three shots while junior
Spyros Rapsomanikis (Corfu, Greece) had a goal and an assist. First year
Ethan Vince (Dexter, Mich.), junior
Josh Vander Wagen (Brookfield, Ill.), first year
Sean Spooner (Saline, Mich.) and sophomore
Charles Jacoby (Reading, Pa.) made up the remaining goalscorers for Wheaton. Junior J
ack Ruggiero (Hamden, Conn.) and sophomore
Hudson Kosiba (Birmingham, Mich.) both finished with an assist. Sophomore goalkeeper
Nic Boyer (Toledo, Ohio) made four saves in the contest.
Sophomore Owen Kroh (Flower Mound, Texas) and junior Freddy Browarski (Austin, Texas) led the Lions with six goals apiece. Junior Atticus Bowman (Albuquerque, N.M.) had a hat-trick of goals and added six assists. First year Ivo Tagliana (Southlake, Texas) finished with two goals and three assists while first year Zach Bradshaw (Flower Mound, Texas) also potted a pair with one assist. Junior goalkeeper Andy Zhuri (Houston, Texas) made 12 saves in the contest.
Wheaton lost the opening sprint, and Behrend wasted no time in capitalizing on the opportunity. Browarski got the scoring started with his first goal of the game just 25 seconds into the first quarter. One minute later, Wheaton was whistled for a five-meter penalty. Kroh converted the opportunity before Bowman made it 3-0 27 seconds later. Just before the midpoint of the first, Bowman was called for an exclusion. The resulting powerplay gave Wheaton the edge they needed, and Spooner was there to answer the call with his ninth goal of the season. Bradshaw put a damper on Wheaton's momentum with a goal 30 seconds later. Kroh scored again to make it 5-1 before Turner checked in with his first goal. Boyer earned the assist as the Lyons made it 5-2. Another powerplay in the final minute of the frame again saw the Lyons take advantage. Ruggiero connected with Vince to make it 5-3 heading into the first break.
30 seconds into the second quarter, the Lyons again conceded a five-meter penalty. Browarski converted the chance, but Ruemelin responded with his first goal of the game to keep his side's deficit the same. Bowman scored again after a rebounded save got away from Boyer, but Jacoby answered within 30 seconds. The Lyons kept pushing, but the opposing defense tightened up as halftime neared. Browarski added two more goals and Kroh scored once down the stretch to put the Lyons down 10-5 at the half.
Vince exploded out of the gates in the second half as he won the spring for his side, but the Lyons failed to capitalize on the early chance. Browarski made it 11-5 on the next possession, but Rapsomanikis responded with a goal just 27 seconds later. A Tagliana powerplay goal preceded Ruelmelin's second goal of the game, but again it was wiped away by Browarski. Bradshaw, Kroh and Tagliana each scored down the stretch as the Lyons fell behind 16-7 heading into the fourth quarter.
Behrend struck first in the fourth quarter with a goal 64 seconds into the frame. Turner was able to respond with his second goal of the game, but Kroh washed it out 12 seconds later. Bowman tucked away a powerplay goal and Kroh got his team to 20 with a goal in the penultimate minute. Vander Wagen found the back of the net in the final minute to make it 20-9, but the Lyons were out of time. They fell to Penn State Behrend 20-9.
The Lyons will play later today against Augustana at 5:30 pm in Baltimore. Penn State Behrend has the remainder of the day off and will play in the first game tomorrow morning at 8:00 am against Austin.
