Bucknell University
Johns Hopkins
Men's Water Polo Finishes Fifth at CWPA Championship
11/23/2014 3:25:00 PM | Men's Water Polo
ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Bucknell jumped out to an early 5-1 lead and ended up defeating Johns Hopkins 11-5 Sunday afternoon in the fifth-place game at the CWPA Championship. The fourth-seeded Bison earned their 11th consecutive top-five finish at the event as they concluded the season with a 17-9 mark, their first time finishing a campaign with single-digit losses since 1985.
Stefan Aleksic scored four of Bucknell's final six goals to give him a career-high 53 on the season. Jeff Hagen scored three times with his second goal giving the Bison a 5-1 lead with 7:34 remaining in the second quarter. Sean Daley also had a multi-goal game with two goals and two assists.
After opening up the four-goal advantage in the first half, Bucknell did not allow Johns Hopkins to get within two goals the rest of the way. The Bison ended the game on a 3-0 run as the Blue Jays did not score over the final six minutes of play.
Keegan Williams posted nine saves in goal for Bucknell, which lost to St. Francis Brooklyn in Friday's semifinal and defeated George Washington on Saturday. Williams finished the season with 206 saves, while his career total of 462 ranks eighth in program history.
The Bison entered the weekend ranked 13th nationally. They improved to 2-1 against Johns Hopkins (14-13) this year.
Note: Following the completion of the CWPA Championship, Stefan Aleksic was named First Team All-CWPA Championship. He finished the tournament with seven goals and three assists.
JOHNS HOPKINS 1 2 1 1 -5
BUCKNELL 4 2 2 3 -11
Goals: Aleksic (4), Hagen (3), Daley (2), Hunter, Curry.
Assists: Daley (2), Curry.
Ejections Drawn: Hunter, Hale, Hagen, Curry.
Saves: Williams (9 svs., 5 ga., 32:00 min.).
Sprints: Daley (1-1), Curry (1-1), Babic (1-1), Hale (0-1).
Bucknell Record: 17-9.
