WASHINGTON, Pa. – The Wheaton College (Mass.) men's water polo team fell in the final game of the W&J Invitational, 13-8, to Pennsylvania State University Behrend at host Washington & Jefferson College's Henry Memorial Natatorium.
The Lyons dip to 1-3 on the season, while the Lions improve to 2-2.
Sophomore attacker Ayden Guess (Alvin, Texas) netted a pair of goals for Wheaton and junior utility Michael Ruemelin (Chicago, Ill.) tallied three points, including two goals and added a drawn exclusion. First year attack Stefan Kecman (Chevy Chase, Md.) also came up with two goals and an assist in addition to a steal. Sophomore goalie Nic Boyer (Toledo, Ohio) made 10 saves, picked up seven steals and assisted on a goal.
Sophomore driver Owen Kroh (Flower Mound, Texas) led all players with three goals for Penn State Behrend, while first year utility player Lukas Miller (Houston, Texas) found the back of the net twice. Junior goalie Andy Zhuri (Houston, Texas) stopped 10 of 16 shots in 26:59 of play, while first year keeper Oliver Csaszi (Falls Church, Va.) denied three of five attempts in 5:01.
The Lions netted the first three goals of the game, including a marker from Kroh with 26 ticks remaining in the opening quarter.
The Lyons received scores from Ruemelin and Guess to close the gap to 4-2 with 4:48 showing in the second period. Penn State Behrend closed out the half with three unanswered tallies, including a goal from first year Ivo Tagliani with 42 seconds left to give the Lions a 7-2 halftime advantage.
Wheaton controlled the first six minutes of the third quarter, with a 3-2 edge, capped by a goal from Kecman to cut the deficit to 9-5 with 1:56 to go in the period. It was as close as the Lyons would get for the remainder of the contest.
Penn State Behrend rattled off three straight markers, including a score from junior wing Atticus Bowman (Albuquerque, N.M.) to increase the Lions' margin to 12-5. Wheaton scored three of the final four goals, capped by Guess' second score of the contest with 77 seconds left to make it a five-goal difference.
The Lyons return to the pool on September 19 with a re-match against Penn State Behrend at 9:00 a.m. at host Connecticut College in New London, Conn.
