George Washington University Athletics
Saturday, November 23
Lewisburg, PA
6:00 PM
George Washington University
9
vs
5
Fordham
Men's Water Polo Headed Back to MAWPC Final
11/23/2019 7:31:00 PM | Water Polo
Colonials locked down Fordham to advance Saturday
LEWISBURG, Pa. - GW men's water polo locked in defensively to take down Fordham, 9-5, on Saturday evening at Kinney Natatorium and punch its ticket back to the Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference final.
Matt Taylor piled up 19 saves and Andras Levai grabbed eight steals as the third-seeded Colonials thwarted the No. 2 Rams.
The Buff and Blue will face top-seeded host Bucknell on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. with a chance to secure a third straight conference title.
GW and Fordham split a pair of regular season meetings with each team winning on the road. Ranked No. 18 nationally, the Colonials never trailed vs. the No. 16 Rams in the rubber match.
GW (22-8) relied on an effective power play and a start-to-finish effort on defense to keep their title hopes alive.
Led by the defensive heroics of Taylor and Levai, the Colonials held Fordham scoreless in the third quarter and allowed just three goals over the final 27 minutes to claim the victory. Taylor followed up his career-best 21-save performance Friday night vs. Johns Hopkins by adding 19 more stops, while Levai's eight steals matched a career high and were one off the GW single-game record.
The Buff and Blue went in front for good on Nick Schroeder's man-up goal with 2:21 left in the opening quarter and fended off the Rams the rest of the way. They scored three straight goals to open the second half and pushed their lead to its largest at 9-4 on a goal by Henry Maas with 2:49 to play.
Schroeder, Andrew Mavis and Atakan Destici tallied two goals apiece to stoke the offense, while Levai, Maas and Gabriele Simonti each scored once.
A four-time All-MAWPC pick, Destici turned in a complete performance, adding four steals, three field blocks, two assists and two ejections drawn, and Mavis stoked the GW power play by drawing a team-high five ejections.
UP NEXT: GW faces Bucknell in the final for the second straight season with the winner advancing to the NCAA Championship. The Bison defeated fourth-seeded Navy, 7-5, earlier Saturday.
It's a rematch of last season's thrilling final in which the Colonials prevailed 12-11 in overtime.
GW 9, Fordham 5
F--2-1-0-2--5
GW--3-1-2-3--9
GW Goals: Destici 2, Mavis 2, Schroeder 2, Maas 1, Levai 1, Simonti 1.
GW Assists: Destici 2, Davis 1, Maas 1, Levai 1, Simonti 1.
GW Steals: Levai 8, Destici 4, Schroeder 1, Simonti 1.
GW Ejections Drawn: Mavis 5, Destici 2, Schroeder 2, Maas 1, Faulkner 1.
GW Field Blocks: Destici 3, Simonti 2.
GW Saves: Taylor 19.
Matt Taylor piled up 19 saves and Andras Levai grabbed eight steals as the third-seeded Colonials thwarted the No. 2 Rams.
The Buff and Blue will face top-seeded host Bucknell on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. with a chance to secure a third straight conference title.
GW and Fordham split a pair of regular season meetings with each team winning on the road. Ranked No. 18 nationally, the Colonials never trailed vs. the No. 16 Rams in the rubber match.
GW (22-8) relied on an effective power play and a start-to-finish effort on defense to keep their title hopes alive.
Led by the defensive heroics of Taylor and Levai, the Colonials held Fordham scoreless in the third quarter and allowed just three goals over the final 27 minutes to claim the victory. Taylor followed up his career-best 21-save performance Friday night vs. Johns Hopkins by adding 19 more stops, while Levai's eight steals matched a career high and were one off the GW single-game record.
The Buff and Blue went in front for good on Nick Schroeder's man-up goal with 2:21 left in the opening quarter and fended off the Rams the rest of the way. They scored three straight goals to open the second half and pushed their lead to its largest at 9-4 on a goal by Henry Maas with 2:49 to play.
Schroeder, Andrew Mavis and Atakan Destici tallied two goals apiece to stoke the offense, while Levai, Maas and Gabriele Simonti each scored once.
A four-time All-MAWPC pick, Destici turned in a complete performance, adding four steals, three field blocks, two assists and two ejections drawn, and Mavis stoked the GW power play by drawing a team-high five ejections.
UP NEXT: GW faces Bucknell in the final for the second straight season with the winner advancing to the NCAA Championship. The Bison defeated fourth-seeded Navy, 7-5, earlier Saturday.
It's a rematch of last season's thrilling final in which the Colonials prevailed 12-11 in overtime.
GW 9, Fordham 5
F--2-1-0-2--5
GW--3-1-2-3--9
GW Goals: Destici 2, Mavis 2, Schroeder 2, Maas 1, Levai 1, Simonti 1.
GW Assists: Destici 2, Davis 1, Maas 1, Levai 1, Simonti 1.
GW Steals: Levai 8, Destici 4, Schroeder 1, Simonti 1.
GW Ejections Drawn: Mavis 5, Destici 2, Schroeder 2, Maas 1, Faulkner 1.
GW Field Blocks: Destici 3, Simonti 2.
GW Saves: Taylor 19.
Players Mentioned
UTL
/ Water Polo
UTL
/ Water Polo
ATT
/ Water Polo
CEN
/ Water Polo
UTL
/ Water Polo
CEN
/ Water Polo
GK
/ Water PoloRAISE HIGH AT GW: S6 EP2
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