Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
#11 St. Francis (N.Y.)
Bucknell Men's Water Polo Ends 22-Game Losing Streak to No. 11 St. Francis (N.Y.) with 16-10 Victory at Navy Open
9/4/2011 8:00:00 AM | Men's Water Polo
ANNAPOLIS, Md. –Alex Nowlin (Coto de Caza, Calif./Tesoro) tallied a team-high eight points on four goals and four assists, and Brian Barron (Oak Park, Ill./Fenwick) chipped in four goals and three assists, helping the No. 19 Bucknell men's water polo team to a 16-10 victory over No. 11 St. Francis (N.Y.) Sunday morning at the Navy Labor Day Open. The win snapped a 22-game losing streak to the Terriers for the Bison.
Bucknell's last victory over St. Francis came Sept. 5, 1998, also at the Navy Open. The last time Bucknell defeated a team ranked 11th or higher in the national poll was Oct. 3, 2009 when it upended No. 10 Navy on a last-second goal by current senior co-captain Beau Caillouette (Newport Beach, Calif./Sage Hill School).
The Bison defeated Gannon 21-6 in their season opener on Saturday afternoon, giving them 37 goals in their first two games. It is the second straight year they have exploded offensively in the opening games of the season. Last season, Bucknell started with 40 goals in its first two contests.
Nowlin and Barron led the offensive charge, accounting for half of the team's 16 scores. Nowlin now has 15 points in the season's first two games, putting him 10 points shy of his entire 2010 total of 25. Barron's four-goal outing was his second straight as he concluded the weekend with a team-high eight scores. He was also strong on the defensive end with a second consecutive four-steal performance Sunday
Sophomores Julian Colina (San Diego, Calif./Cathedral Catholic) and Jack Else (Lansdale, Pa./North Penn) also reached double figures in goals with two apiece, while Trevor Reitz dished out three assists and scored once. He also won two of three sprints.
Matt Napleton (Oak Park, Ill./Fenwick) anchored the defense in the cage with a career-high nine saves.
Bucknell (2-0), which converted 4 of 7 six-on-five chances compared to just 4 of 11 for the Terriers, doubled up St. Francis in both the first quarter (4-2) and at halftime (8-4) en route to the victory. It was the third loss of the weekend for the Terriers, who lost to Concordia and to Navy on Saturday. The game with the Mids went to double overtime.
Bison first-year coach John McBride became the first Bucknell coach since John Zeigler in 1992 to open his tenure with two consecutive victories.
The Bison wrapped up play at the Navy Labor Day Open Sunday afternoon with an exhibition game against Cerritos and came away with a 14-6 victory. Barron led the Bison with five goals in the contest.
ST. FRANCIS 2 2 4 2 -10
BUCKNELL 4 4 6 2 -16
Goals: Nowlin (4), Barron (4), Else (2), Colina (2), Caillouette, Richley, Schwartz, Reitz.
Assists: Nowlin (4), Barron (3), Reitz (3), Napleton (2), Doyle, Caillouette, Barnett.
Field Blocks: Doyle, Richley.
Ejections Drawn: Caillouette (2), Kimble (2), Else, Reitz.
Saves: Napleton (9 svs., 10 ga., 32:00 min.).
Steals: Barron (4), Richley (3), Reitz (3), Doyle, Nowlin, Colina, Napleton.
Sprints: Reitz (2-3), Barron (1-1).
Bucknell Record: 2-0.
