Sunday, November 24
Lewisburg, Pa.
1:30 p.m.
Bucknell University
9
vs
4
No. 16 George Washington
No. 13 Men's Water Polo Claims MAWPC Championship with 9-4 Win over George Washington
11/24/2019 4:40:00 PM | Men's Water Polo
LEWISBURG, Pa. – The No. 13 and top-seeded Bucknell University men's water polo team used an explosive start to run past No. 3 seed George Washington, 9-4 in a rematch of the 2018 championship tilt.
The Bison, now 22-8, qualify for the NCAA Tournament for just the seventh time in program history, and just the second time since 1985. Bucknell has now won both of the MAWPC Tournaments hosted at its home pool, joining the 2016 squad. Bucknell is also the only host school to have won the tournament in the history of the MAWPC, accomplishing the feat twice.
The Bison, who have qualified for the MAWPC championship in three of the four years in the history of the tournament, used a quick start to help take control of the game early.
Bucknell, after falling behind early in last year's title game, scored three straight goals in the first four minutes to jump out to a commanding 3-0 lead. Senior Logan Schofield latched onto a pass from fellow senior Cooper Dolan in the middle before turning and firing a low shot into the lower left corner for Bucknell's first. Jared Stanley fired in Bucknell's second from a tight angle at the 5:49 mark, before Joksimovic capped off the Bucknell run with 4:24 to go in the first period.
George Washington got on the board with a penalty shot with 2:22 left to go in the first quarter, but Schofield once again proved a threat from close range as he took a pass from Cullen Jacuzzi from the right side and fired a hard shot into the lower left corner to give Bucknell a 4-1 lead after one period.
George Washington scored a quick goal to open the second half to pull within two, but Dolan, who had four assists on the day, notched his lone goal of the afternoon on a feed from Joksimovic to extend the Bucknell lead back to three. The goal started another 3-0 run for Bucknell as Andu Vlasceanu and Joksimovic each found the back of the cage just 23 seconds apart to give Bucknell a 7-2 lead at the halftime horn.
Bucknell extended its lead to six after Jacuzzi, another senior, made a heads up play to score with just a few seconds remaining on the shot clock with 6:17 to go in the third period. The Bison clamped down defensively in the second half, limiting George Washington to just three goals. Two of those goals came to end the third period as George Washington cut the Bison lead to 8-4 entering the final period and threatened to work itself back into the game.
George Washington kept the pressure on in the fourth, but critical field blocks from Dolan and Vlasceanu, along with two quick saves from freshman goalkeeper Adrien Touzot, helped keep the Colonials at bay. Schofield scored Bucknell's ninth goal of the day with just 2:27 to go to help seal the win as Bucknell shut out its opponent in the fourth quarter for the third consecutive game.
Bucknell's senior class of Joksimovic, Jacuzzi, Schofield, and Dolan combined for seven of Bucknell's nine goals, with Schofield recording three on the day. Dolan also chipped in four assists, while Joksimovic scored twice with an assist. Vlasceanu and Stanley recorded Bucknell's other two goals, while the former also managed three steals. Adrien Touzot recorded ten saves.
Joksimovic was named the Tournament's Most Valuable Player for the third time in his four seasons at Bucknell, while Vlasceanu was named Rookie of the Tournament. Head Coach John McBride also earned Coach of the Tournament accolades. Joining Joksimovic and Vlasceanu on the All-MAWPC Tournament First Team was Schofield, who earned the distinction for the second straight year.
Bucknell will travel to Harvard on Saturday, Nov. 30 to take on the Crimson in the NCAA Opening Round at 12:30 p.m.
Goals: Schofield (3), Joksimovic (2), Dolan, Stanley, Jacuzzi, Vlasceanu
Assists: Dolan (4), Jacuzzi, Joksimovic
Steals: Vlasceanu, Joksimovic, Schofield, Stanley, Dolan
Ejections Drawn: Schofield (3), Joksimovic (3)
Saves: Touzot, 10 saves, 4 GA, 32:00 Minutes
The Bison, now 22-8, qualify for the NCAA Tournament for just the seventh time in program history, and just the second time since 1985. Bucknell has now won both of the MAWPC Tournaments hosted at its home pool, joining the 2016 squad. Bucknell is also the only host school to have won the tournament in the history of the MAWPC, accomplishing the feat twice.
The Bison, who have qualified for the MAWPC championship in three of the four years in the history of the tournament, used a quick start to help take control of the game early.
Bucknell, after falling behind early in last year's title game, scored three straight goals in the first four minutes to jump out to a commanding 3-0 lead. Senior Logan Schofield latched onto a pass from fellow senior Cooper Dolan in the middle before turning and firing a low shot into the lower left corner for Bucknell's first. Jared Stanley fired in Bucknell's second from a tight angle at the 5:49 mark, before Joksimovic capped off the Bucknell run with 4:24 to go in the first period.
George Washington got on the board with a penalty shot with 2:22 left to go in the first quarter, but Schofield once again proved a threat from close range as he took a pass from Cullen Jacuzzi from the right side and fired a hard shot into the lower left corner to give Bucknell a 4-1 lead after one period.
George Washington scored a quick goal to open the second half to pull within two, but Dolan, who had four assists on the day, notched his lone goal of the afternoon on a feed from Joksimovic to extend the Bucknell lead back to three. The goal started another 3-0 run for Bucknell as Andu Vlasceanu and Joksimovic each found the back of the cage just 23 seconds apart to give Bucknell a 7-2 lead at the halftime horn.
Bucknell extended its lead to six after Jacuzzi, another senior, made a heads up play to score with just a few seconds remaining on the shot clock with 6:17 to go in the third period. The Bison clamped down defensively in the second half, limiting George Washington to just three goals. Two of those goals came to end the third period as George Washington cut the Bison lead to 8-4 entering the final period and threatened to work itself back into the game.
George Washington kept the pressure on in the fourth, but critical field blocks from Dolan and Vlasceanu, along with two quick saves from freshman goalkeeper Adrien Touzot, helped keep the Colonials at bay. Schofield scored Bucknell's ninth goal of the day with just 2:27 to go to help seal the win as Bucknell shut out its opponent in the fourth quarter for the third consecutive game.
Bucknell's senior class of Joksimovic, Jacuzzi, Schofield, and Dolan combined for seven of Bucknell's nine goals, with Schofield recording three on the day. Dolan also chipped in four assists, while Joksimovic scored twice with an assist. Vlasceanu and Stanley recorded Bucknell's other two goals, while the former also managed three steals. Adrien Touzot recorded ten saves.
Joksimovic was named the Tournament's Most Valuable Player for the third time in his four seasons at Bucknell, while Vlasceanu was named Rookie of the Tournament. Head Coach John McBride also earned Coach of the Tournament accolades. Joining Joksimovic and Vlasceanu on the All-MAWPC Tournament First Team was Schofield, who earned the distinction for the second straight year.
Bucknell will travel to Harvard on Saturday, Nov. 30 to take on the Crimson in the NCAA Opening Round at 12:30 p.m.
Goals: Schofield (3), Joksimovic (2), Dolan, Stanley, Jacuzzi, Vlasceanu
Assists: Dolan (4), Jacuzzi, Joksimovic
Steals: Vlasceanu, Joksimovic, Schofield, Stanley, Dolan
Ejections Drawn: Schofield (3), Joksimovic (3)
Saves: Touzot, 10 saves, 4 GA, 32:00 Minutes
Players Mentioned
CD
/ Men's Water Polo
ATK
/ Men's Water Polo
C
/ Men's Water Polo
ATK
/ Men's Water Polo
GK
/ Men's Water Polo
ATK
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