No. 14 Men's Water Polo Edges MIT, Drops Close Game to No. 9 Harvard

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The No. 14 Bucknell University men's water polo team used eight different goalscorers to get by a game MIT team, 13-9, in the third match of the Harvard Invite on Sunday morning before dropping a closely contested 9-8 decision at No. 9 Harvard.

The Bison are now 14-4 after the 2-2 weekend.

Bucknell started quickly, after an exclusion by the Engineers at the 5:52 mark of the first period gave Rade Joksimovic a penalty shot and Bucknell a 1-0 lead. Bucknell doubled its lead at the 3:13 mark on another powerplay chance, with Cooper Dolan finding the back of the cage this time. Freshman Andu Vlasceanu then added Bucknell's third as it shut out MIT, 3-0, in the first quarter.

MIT got on the board in the second period, cutting the lead to 4-2 with 6:14 left in the first half. Two goals by Joskimovic, a goal from Schofield, and a powerplay goal by Jared Stanley with just under a minute to go helped Bucknell take an 8-3 lead at the halftime break.

Bucknell clamped down once again defensively in the third period, shutting out MIT again in the quarter. A lone goal by Vlasceanu was the only tally for the Bison during that timespan.

Scott Little, Will Gildea, and Colby Paine each found the back of the cage in the fourth as Bucknell took a 13-9 win in game three of the Harvard Invite. Bucknell earned its second win of the season over MIT, defeating the Engineers 15-9 in the season-opener on Sept. 7.

Joksimovic scored three times to lead Bucknell, which posted eight different goalscorers overall. Jack Otto returned in goal for Bucknell, making six saves in his first appearance since Sept. 21. Vlasceanu, Stanley and Paine each added two goals for the Bison, which will now look ahead to a tough matchup against host and No. 9 Harvard to close the weekend.

MIT    0 - 3 - 0 - 6 -- 9
Bucknell    3 - 5 - 1 - 4 -- 13

Goals: Joksimovic (3), Vlasceanu (2), Paine (2), Stanley (2), Little, Dolan, Gildea
Steals: Vlasceanu (3), Joksimovic (2), Schofield, Poland, Fazekas
Saves: Otto, 6 saves, 9 GA, 32:00 minutes

Game Two: No. 9 Harvard 9, No. 14 Bucknell 8

In another defensive contest between two of the top teams in the east, Harvard used a seven-goal second half to come back from an early deficit against the Bison and remain unbeaten on the season.

Bucknell drops to 14-4 after the defeat, and finishes the weekend at 2-2.

Bucknell started the game brightly, shutting out its opponent in the first period for the second straight game. Bucknell scored three straight to open the period, with Cullen Jacuzzi starting things off on an assist by Andu Vlasceanu.

Logan Schofield then scored an unassisted goal just seconds after making a great play on the defensive end to block a shot from Harvard's Michael Sonsini to give Bucknell a 2-0 lead, before Rade Joksimovic scored to end the period to give Bucknell a 3-0 lead.

Harvard found the back of the cage for the first time in the second period, before Jack Lewis responded just a few minutes later. Dennis Blyashov of the Crimson then found the back of the cage as Bucknell headed into the halftime intermission with a 4-2 lead.

Harvard started the second half strongly, scoring the next three goals to take a 5-4 lead before Cooper Dolan scored on another assist from Vlasceanu to tie things up at five. The game remained close heading to the fourth, as the two teams exchanged goals as the game went to the fourth period tied at six.

Harvard took an 8-6 lead after two consecutive goals, before Jared Stanley responded to cut the Harvard lead to 8-7. Harvard added one more goal to once again push the lead to 9-7, before Stanley scored once more to cut the Harvard lead back to one. Both Stanley and Vlasceanu had decent looks at the end of the game, but Harvard goalkeeper Noah Hodge was up to the task as Harvard edged the Bison by a single goal.

Joksimovic scored twice along with Jared Stanley, while Vlasceanu dished out four assists. Adrien Touzot returned to the cage, making nine saves in the defeat.

The Bison will travel to California for four games from Oct. 26-27.

Bucknell    3 - 1 - 2 - 2 -- 8
Harvard    0 - 2 - 4 - 3 -- 9

Goals: Joksimovic (2), Stanley (2), Schofield, Jacuzzi, Dolan, Lewis
Assists: Vlasceanu (4), Joksimovic, Lewis
Steals: Joksimovic (5), Stanley Vlasceanu, Schofield
Ejections Drawn: Schofield (3), Joksimovic, Vlasceanu
Saves: Touzot, 9 saves, 9 GA, 32:00 minutes.

No. 14 Men's Water Polo Edges MIT, Drops Close Game to No. 9 Harvard

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Players Mentioned

Cooper Dolan

Will Gildea

Cullen Jacuzzi

Rade Joksimovic

Jack Lewis

Scott Little

Jack Otto

Colby Paine

Logan Schofield

Jared Stanley

Adrien Touzot

Andu Vlasceanu