Bucknell University
George Washington
Men's Water Polo Advances at CWPA Championship with 17-4 Win Over George Washington
11/20/2015 2:04:00 PM | Men's Water Polo
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Marko Djordjevic scored a career-high five goals, Ratimir Babic dished out a career-high five assists and the Bison defense posted a season-high 26 steals to lead the No. 15 Bucknell men's water polo team to a 17-4 victory over George Washington Friday at the CWPA Championship, which is hosted by MIT. The Bison advanced on to the quarterfinals to play one of the top two seeds in the 12-team field, No. 11 Princeton, at 4:40 p.m. on Friday.
The 13-point margin of victory was the largest of the year for Bucknell (17-11), which is seeded seventh. The Bison jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the opening minutes and then outscored the 10th-seeded Colonials 5-0 in the second quarter to take an 8-2 advantage to intermission. Bucknell added nine more goals in the second half.
Djordjevic's five goals equaled the most by a Bison player this season, while Babic's five assists were also tied for the most by a Bucknell player in 2015. First-team all-conference selection Stefan Aleksic added four goals to move within two of ninth-place Scott Mutschler on the program's career list, while second-team all-conference choice Sean Daley registered four assists, boosting his season total to a career-high 52.
Aleksic and Tommy Stupp recorded six steals apiece for the Bison, who had 10 different players register at least one steal in the contest.
With the strong defense in front of him, Bucknell goalie Charlie Niehaus was called upon to make just eight saves.
The Bison are now 3-0 against George Washington (7-21) this season and they have won seven in a row in the series. The victory helped them equal the most wins in a season under fifth-year head coach John McBride.
Next up for Bucknell is Princeton at 4:40 p.m. on Friday. The Tigers (19-4) swept the regular-season series from the Bison and have won nine games in a row entering the CWPA Championship.
GEO. WASH. 2 0 1 1 -4
BUCKNELL 3 5 4 5 -17
Goals: Djordjevic (5), Aleksic (4), Hunter (2), Hagen (2), Stupp (2), Moore, Babic.
Assists: Babic (5), Daley (4), Stupp (2), Hunter, Djordjevic, Hagen.
Ejections Drawn: Hunter (2), Aleksic (2), Daley, Hagen, Stupp.
Steals: Aleksic (6), Stupp (6), Daley (3), Hagen (3), Moore (2), Djordjevic (2), Hunter, Bolanca, Babic, Coleman.
Saves: Niehaus (8 svs., 4 ga., 32:00 min.).
Sprints: Wilder (1-1), Stupp (0-2), Daley (0-1).
Bucknell Record: 17-11
