Bucknell University
George Washington
No. 12 Bucknell Men's Water Polo Completes Perfect Weekend with 7-6 Win Over George Washington
9/16/2007 8:00:00 AM | Men's Water Polo
Sept. 16, 2007
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Behind a career high-tying three goals from Josh Sunday (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) for the second consecutive game, the No. 12 Bucknell men's water polo team came back to defeat George Washington Sunday afternoon at Kinney Natatorium. The victory was the eighth in a row for the Bison, who completed their weekend 3-0 against league foes Princeton, Johns Hopkins and the Colonials.
Bucknell battled back late after trailing the majority of the game. Late in the third quarter Sunday netted the second of his three goals to knot the score at 5-5 and the Bison never fell behind again after facing four separate two-goal deficits earlier in the contest.
Jason Rechel (Columbus, Ohio/Thomas Worthington), who was held to just one goal for the second straight game, gave Bucknell its first lead early in the fourth. Sunday then netted his final score with 2:16 left to give the Bison a 7-5 advantage, their largest of the game.
George Washington threatened on the ensuing possession, twice getting into six-on-five situations, but the Bucknell defense came up with a big stop, culminating in a steal by Mark Masterson (Kihei, Hawaii/Marin) with about 1:15 to play that sealed the victory for the Bison.
David Zenk, who led the Colonials with two goals and a pair of assists, added a goal with six seconds remaining to make the final result a one-goal game at 7-6.
Defenses for both teams came up big in the contest as Bucknell entered the contest averaging more than 12 goals per game and George Washington (5-3) more than 11.5. The Bison managed 17 steals, including a team-high four by Richie Hyden (Riverside, Conn./Greenwich), to stop the high-scoring Colonials. George Washington goalie Chris Whittam thwarted the Bucknell offense that had scored double figures in seven consecutive games as he made 12 impressive saves. The Bison routinely got open looks at the goal, but Whittam often turned them aside.
Nick Donahue (Brooklyn, N.Y./Lawrenceville) became the third different Bucknell goalie to start a game this weekend and made two saves while playing the first half. Luke Belenky (Kensington, Md./German School), who started all 28 games last year, relieved him in the second half and stopped three shots. Both goalies yielded three goals in their half of play.
Both teams struggled scoring in man-up situations. The Bison were just 1-for-7, with the lone score being Sunday's equalizing one late in the third, and the Colonials were 1-for-5, converting their only one late in the third quarter as well.
With its eighth consecutive victory, Bucknell equaled its most wins in a row since posting nine straight in 1985. The 1985 campaign was the last time the Bison advanced to the NCAA Championships.
By tallying just seven goals, the Bison failed to reach double figures for the first time since opening the season with an 11-7 loss to No. 2 Cal.
Bucknell capped an outstanding weekend with its win over George Washington. The Bison improved to 8-1 overall and 3-0 in CWPA Southern Division play. That win total equals their conference win total from all of last year. In addition to its victory over the Colonials on Sunday, Bucknell defeated No. 15 Princeton 13-12 in overtime on Friday and No. 20 Johns Hopkins 11-8 on Saturday. All three weekend games were played at Kinney Natatorium.
The Bison will be idle next weekend, but will host the ECAC Championship in two weeks at Kinney Natatorium. The two-day event runs Sept. 29-30. Bucknell's first game is slated for Sept. 29 against Brown.
GEORGE WASHINGTON 2 1 2 1 -6
BUCKNELL 1 1 3 2 -7
Goals: Sunday (3), Rechel, Anderson, Ang, Lampley.
Assists: Hyden, Heiber, Roslyn, Stupp, Nelson.
Ejections Drawn: Roslyn (2), Heiber, Rechel, Sunday, Stupp, Lampley.
Saves: Donahue (2 svs., 3 ga., 16:00 min.), Belenky (3 svs., 3 ga., 16:00 min.).
Steals: Hyden (4), Roslyn (3), Masterson (2), Stupp (2), Rechel, Anderson, O'Keefe, Sunday, Nelson, Belenky.
Sprints: Rechel (0-4).
Record: 8-1, 3-0 CWPA Southern Division
