Bucknell University
Johns Hopkins
Bucknell Men's Water Polo Finishes Third at Southern Championships with 8-5 Win over Johns Hopkins
10/29/2006 7:00:00 AM | Men's Water Polo
Oct. 29, 2006
Southern Championships Results
LEWISBURG, Pa. - After totaling 26 goals in two games Saturday to advance to Sunday's Southern Championships third-place game against Johns Hopkins, the Bucknell men's water polo team saw its defense take over as it defeated the Blue Jays 8-5 at Kinney Natatorium to finish third for the fifth time in the last seven years.
The contest equaled the fewest number of combined goals in a Bison game this year as the two teams totaled 24 steals, with Bucknell garnering 15. Mark Masterson (Kihei, Hawaii/Marin) and Josh Sunday (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) led the way with three apiece for the Bison, who improved to 14-11 with the victory.
Bucknell limited Johns Hopkins (14-14) to just one goal in the first 10-plus minutes of play as it built a 5-1 lead behind two goals from Masterson and single scores from Sean Robinson (San Marino, Calif./San Marino), Kyle Roslyn (Philadelphia, Pa./William Penn Charter) and Sunday. Two of those goals came on 6-on-5 opportunities, while Masterson's second was on a penalty shot, his fourth in two games.
The Bison offense then went cold, netting just one goal in a stretch of more than 17 minutes. In fact, neither team found the back of the net in the scoreless third quarter.
During Bucknell's scoreless stretch Johns Hopkins narrowed the score to 6-5 with a pair of goals in the opening minute of the fourth stanza. That prompted Bison head coach John Zeigler to return his starters to the pool and Jason Rechel (Columbus, Ohio/Thomas Worthington) and Sunday registered goals in the final minutes to seal the win.
Sunday led Bucknell with three goals and one assist, while Roslyn and Rechel each dished out a pair of assists to go along with their single goals in the third win of the year for the Bison over the Blue Jays.
Luke Belenky (Kensington, Md./German School) made eight saves in goal to bring his season total to 157.
By virtue of finishing third at the Southern Championships the Bison will advance to the Eastern Championship in two weeks in Princeton, N.J. The top four teams at Southerns automatically advance. In addition to Bucknell, which is ranked 18th nationally and Johns Hopkins, No. 12 Navy and No. 15 Princeton will advance to Easterns. The Bison have now qualified for the Eastern Championship seven consecutive years, tying a program record.
JOHNS HOPKINS 1 2 0 2 -5
BUCKNELL 3 3 0 2 -8
Goals: Sunday (3), Masterson (2), Robinson, Rechel, Roslyn.
Assists: Rechel (2), Roslyn (2), Sunday.
Ejections Drawn: Roslyn (3), Masterson (2), Rechel, Robinson.
Saves: Belenky (8 svs., 5 ga., 32:00 min.).
Steals: Masterson (3), Sunday (3), Heiber (2), Rechel (2), Roslyn (2), Robinson, Sunday, Belenky.
Sprints: Rechel (1-4). Record: 14-11
