No.15 Men's Water Polo Drops Two Close Games to Open Julian Fraser Memorial

SANTA CLARA, CALIF. -- The No. 15 Bucknell University men's water polo team dropped two close contests against No. 11 Loyola Marymount and California Baptist, which was receiving votes in the latest CWPA poll.

Game One: No. 11 Loyola Marymount 14, No. 15 Bucknell 13.
The two teams kept things close in the opening game of the weekend for the Bison, as Bucknell took a 4-3 lead after the first period, capped off by a goal from junior and nearby Palo Alto native Jared Stanley.

Bucknell took a 6-4 lead in the second period after goals from Jack Lewis and Andu Vlasceanu, before Loyola Marymount scored three out of the last five in the half to pull within one, 8-7, at the halftime break.

The Lions tied things up to start the third before senior Cooper Dolan gave Bucknell a 9-8 lead. Two straight goals from the Lions helped LMU take a 10-9 lead with 2:44 left in the third, its first lead of the game.

\The game remained close between the two top-15 teams, as LMU looked to hold onto a 12-11 lead with 5:28 in the fourth period. Howver, back-to-back strikes from senior Rade Joksimovic gave Bucknell a 13-12 lead with 4:52 remaining.

The Lions made their run to end the game, scoring two straight, including the go-ahead goal with 0:24 left in the game to reclaim the lead for good, 14-13. After a timeout by the Bison, Joksimovic had one more good look for Bucknell with just seconds remaining, but his shot was blocked in the field by the Lions' Austin Clark.

Joksimovic netted five times for the Orange and Blue, while Dolan, Vlasceanu, and Stanley each scored twice. Adrien Touzot had another big game in the cage, saving 16 shots.

Goals: Joskimovic (5), Dolan (2), Stanley (2), Vlasceanu (2), Jacuzzi, Lewis
Steals: Vlasceanu (2), Jacuzzi (2), Joksimovic, Blackwell
Sprints: Joksimovic (2-2), Lewis (0-1), Jacuzzi (0-1)
Saves: Touzot 16 saves, 14 Ga, 32:00 minutes

Game Two: California Baptist 14, No. 15 Bucknell 12
Another closely-contested battle between these two schools resulted in a victory for the Lancers as California Baptist used a 5-3 run in the fourth period to break open a tie game throughout the first three periods.

The Lancers avenged a close 20-19 defeat at the hands of the Bison on Sept. 7, in which Joksimovic scored a season-high eight goals at the Bruno Classic.

In Saturday's edition, the Bison and the Lancers battled to eight different ties through the first three periods as the two teams went into halftime tied at six apiece. After falling behind 7-6 to open the third period, Vlasceanu and Joksimovic scored a goal each to give Bucknell its first lead, 8-7 since Logan Schofield scored the opening goal in the first period to give Bucknell a 1-0 lead. CBU scored two of the final three as the game went into the fourth tied at nine.

The Lancers used three straight goals to take a 12-9 lead in the fourth with 4:52 to go. Stanley stopped the Lancer run with a goal of his own at the 3:50 mark of the fourth, before CBU responded with another goal just 21 seconds later to take a 13-10 lead.

Bucknell wouldn't go away quietly however, with Dolan and Joksimovic scoring just over a minute apart to pull Bucknell within one, 13-12, with 1:45 to go. However, CBU found an insurance goal with 1:14 left to help hold on to a 14-12 victory.

Bucknell will have two more games on Sunday against Fresno Pacific and No. 13 San Jose State to close the Julian Fraser Memorial Tournament.
Goals: Joksimovic (4), Vlasceanu (3), Stanley (2), Schofield, Brill, Lewis

No.15 Men's Water Polo Drops Two Close Games to Open Julian Fraser Memorial

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Players Mentioned

Cooper Dolan

Rade Joksimovic

Jack Lewis

Logan Schofield

Jared Stanley

Adrien Touzot

Andu Vlasceanu