Bucknell University
Harvard
Men's Water Polo Goes 2-1 on Opening Day of Season
9/5/2015 11:15:00 PM | Men's Water Polo
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Playing three games in a single day for the first time since 2003, the Bucknell men's water polo team opened its 2015 campaign Saturday at the Bruno Classic and posted a 2-1 record. The Bison, who are ranked 19th nationally, defeated Harvard and No. 17 St. Francis Brooklyn before concluding the day with a loss to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.
Bucknell (2-1) opened the day with a 10-8 win over Harvard and followed that with an 8-7 victory over St. Francis Brooklyn. It was the Bison's first win against the Terriers since 2011 and marked their first win opposite a ranked foe since upending No. 12 UC Davis last October. Bucknell could not complete the perfect day as C-M-S jumped out to a 10-3 halftime lead on its way to a 14-9 victory.
Stefan Aleksic, Jeff Hagen and Tommy Stupp led the Bison offense on Saturday with five goals apiece.
The opener against the Crimson was tied 8-8 at the end of three quarters and then Sean Daley and R.J. Moore scored fourth-quarter goals for Bucknell. The Bison defense held Harvard without a goal for the entire fourth quarter.
Hagen scored a team-high three goals in the win over St. Francis Brooklyn. He scored the first of three unanswered Bucknell goals in the fourth quarter that staked the Bison to an 8-5 lead. The Terriers got two goals back, but could not draw even as Bucknell ended the game in a man-advantage situation.
Seven different Bison scored goals against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, but Bucknell could not overcome the early deficit. Moore and Stupp had two goals apiece for the Bison.
Charlie Niehaus started all three games in goal and totaled 16 saves on the day. He played the entire first two contests, but struggled in the final one and was replaced by Patrick McKenzie in the second quarter. McKenzie played the final 20 minutes and posted seven saves.
Bucknell will wrap up its weekend at the Bruno Classic Sunday with an 11:45 a.m. contest against No. 4 Stanford. It will be the Bison's first meeting with the Cardinal since 2011.
Game 1
HARVARD 3 1 4 0 -8
BUCKNELL 2 3 3 2 -10
Goals: Aleksic (3), Daley (2), Stupp (2), Moore, Hagen, Babic.
Assists: Stupp.
Ejections Drawn: Hunter (2), Bolanca, Hagen.
Saves: Niehaus (4 svs., 8 ga., 32:00 min.).
Sprints: Daley (2-4).
Bucknell Record: 1-0.
Game 2
ST. FRANCIS BROOKLYN 2 2 1 2 -7
BUCKNELL 3 1 1 3 -8
Goals: Hagen (3), Hunter, Aleksic, Djordjevic, Daley, Stupp.
Assists: Aleksic (2), Daley (2).
Ejections Drawn: Hunter (5), Hagen (3), Aleksic, Stupp.
Saves: Niehaus (10 svs., 7 ga., 32:00 min.).
Sprints: Daley (3-4).
Bucknell Record: 2-0.
Game 3
C-M-S 4 6 2 2 -14
BUCKNELL 0 3 3 3 -9
Goals: Moore (2), Stupp (2), Aleksic, Djordjevic, Hagen, Babic, Farmer.
Assists: Hunter, Daley, McKenzie.
Ejections Drawn: Hagen (3), Stupp (2), Hunter, Aleksic, Moore, Babic.
Saves: Niehaus (2 svs., 8 ga., 12:25 min.), McKenzie (7 svs., 6 ga., 19:35 min.).
Sprints: Daley (2-3), Stupp (0-1).
Bucknell Record: 2-1.
