Bucknell University
Fordham
Men's Water Polo Concludes Weekend with 7-6 OT Loss to Fordham
9/14/2014 6:42:00 PM | Men's Water Polo
LEWISBURG, Pa. – The Bucknell men's water polo team was looking to finish its home invitational with a perfect 4-0 record Sunday afternoon, but Fordham edged the Bison by a 7-6 score in overtime. The Rams' Ethan Vandeventer scored 1:10 into the first sudden victory overtime period, snapping Bucknell's three-game winning streak.
Fordham (6-2) played a methodical game and controlled tempo in the low-scoring affair. There were just five total goals scored in the first half and the 13 goals scored in the contest marked the fewest in a Bucknell game since the 2012 Eastern Championship.
The score was tied 6-6 nearing the end of regulation and Bucknell (3-3) had possession. Freshman Grant Curry attempted a shot from the left wing that hit the post and caromed right to Nate Hunter. His follow-up shot was saved by Fordham goalie Noah LeBeau (14 saves). Vandeventer then stole the ball from Stefan Aleksic on the restart, forcing overtime.
Water polo overtime consists of two three-minute periods with the winner being the team that is ahead after that initial six minutes, with sudden victory periods to follow. Neither team scored during that initial stretch, although the Bison defense needed to come up big to prevent the Rams from tallying. With about two minutes remaining in the second three-minute period, a Fordham shot hit the crossbar and rebounded right to another Ram. Bucknell's Nick Hale got a hand on the ensuing shot, helping the Bison take possession. R.J. Moore had a big field block on Fordham's final possession of that period, helping to force the sudden victory OT session.
Fordham's winning goal by Vandeventer came off a restart when a Bison player was whistled for an ejection.
The Bison drew a season-high 12 ejections in the contest, but converted just 4 of 12 six-on-five attempts. Bucknell also never led in the game and needed two fourth-quarter goals from freshman Jeff Hagen to tie the score and force overtime.
Fellow freshman Grant Curry tied Hagen for team-high honors with two goals, while Aleksic and Moore had one apiece. Hale played a strong all-around game with three assists, one ejection drawn, two sprints won and two field blocks.
Bucknell, which defeated Mercyhurst earlier in the day, saw its eight-game home winning streak come to an end.
The Bison will be on the road next weekend as they travel to league opponents Navy, George Washington and Johns Hopkins. Bucknell defeated the Blue Jays on Saturday and are already 1-0 in conference play.
FORDHAM 1 2 2 1 0 0 1 -7
BUCKNELL 0 2 2 2 0 0 0 -12
Goals: Curry (2), Hagen (2), Aleksic, Moore.
Assists: Hale (3), Aleksic (2).
Saves: Williams (7 svs., 7 ga., 39:10 min.).
Sprints: Hale (2-4), Curry (0-2), Babic (0-1).
Bucknell Record: 3-3.
