Saturday, September 7
Providence, R.I.
9:45 a.m
Bucknell University
15
vs
9
MIT
Photo by: Rob Dolan
No. 16 Men's Water Polo Starts Season 2-0 With Wins Over MIT, No. 16 Cal Baptist
9/7/2019 11:46:00 AM | Men's Water Polo
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The No. 16 Bucknell University men's water polo team started its season off strongly, taking a 15-9 win over MIT in the first game of the 2019 season, before defeating No. 16 Cal Baptist in a tight 20-19 decision. .
Game One: No. 16 Bucknell 15, MIT 9
Bucknell used a fast start to pull ahead of MIT, scoring 6 goals in the first period to take a 6-2 lead. After the first goal by the Engineers, Cullen Jacuzzi found the back of the cage to pull the Bison even. Another goal by the Engineers gave MIT a 2-1 lead, but 5-0 run by the Bison ended the quarter to give Bucknell a 6-4 lead after one. Freshman Andu Vlasceanu began his college career with a bang, scoring three of Bucknell's five goals during that run. Logan Schofield also added a goal during the stretch.
Four more goals by the Bison in the second period, including two straight from Rade Joksimovic, gave the Bison a 10-4 lead at the half.
Bucknell continued to keep its foot on the gas in the third, scoring twice more. Bucknell added three more strikes in the fourth to earn the 15-9 season-opening win.
Bucknell's 15 goals were scored by just five different players, with Joksimovic leading the way with five goals. Vlasceanu added four goals in his collegiate debut, while Schofield, Jared Stanley, and Jacuzzi added two goals apiece. Jack Otto, after making a career-high 19 saves in the MAWPC Championship last fall, had another solid game in the cage, adding eight saves. Bucknell converted 15 of its 29 shot attempts.
Goals: Vlasceanu (5), Joksimovic (4) Jacuzzi (2), Stanley (2), Schofield (2)
Assists: Joksimovic, Paine, Vlasceanu, Blackwell
Steals: Vlasceanu (3), Joksimovic, Paine, Schofield, Brill, Blackwell, Otto
Ejections Drawn: Schofield (3), Joksimovic, Blackwell
Saves: Otto 8 saves, 9 goals allowed, .455 save pct.
Game Two: No. 16 Bucknell 20, No. 16 Cal Baptist 19
The two teams found their offense early on, with Bucknell outscoring the Lancers 11-7 in the opening period. Cal Baptist took the early lead on a goal by Logan Mena, but a penalty shot by Joksimovic on an exclusion drawn by Blackwell helped the Bison tie things up. Jacuzzi found his groove early on, scoring two of his three goals in the opening frame as Bucknell took a 7-4 lead. Joksimovic also provided a spark in the early goings, netting six of his eight total goals in the first period.
The second quarter proved to be different for both teams, as the two ranked foes buckled down and didn't allow a goal as the score remained 11-7 entering the break.
The Lancers pulled within two in the third quarter after outscoring the Bison 6-4 in the period, and eventually brought the game to a one-goal deficit in the fourth after outscoring the Bison 6-5 in that frame. A goal by Vlasceanu helped Bucknell restore the three-goal advantage in the fourth, 19-16, but the Lancers brought the Bison advantage back down to two with a goal by Mena, who finished with four tallies on the day, on the powerplay. Logan Schofield found the back of the cage on an unassisted goal for Bucknell's final tally, but the Lancers wouldn't go away quietly.
Back-to-back goals by Cal Baptist brought the Lancers within one, 20-19, with just seconds to go. Cal Baptist had seemingly managed to come all the way back on a goal by Joseph Galgani at the buzzer, but his shot was waved off as Bucknell held on for the one-goal win.
The win by the Bison was the first since 2015 against the Lancers. Joksimovic netted a season-high eight goals, while Andu Vlasceanu added four. goals. Joksimovic, who had six steals between the two games, now needs just six more to break Bucknell's all-time steals record of 253 set by Jay Danforth from 2001-04.
Goals: Joksimovic (8), Vlasceanu (4), Stanley (3), Jacuzzi (2), Schofield (2), Blackwell
Assists: Vlasceanu (2), Joksimovic, Schofield
Steals: Joksimovic (5), Vlasceanu (2), Fazekas
Ejections Drawn: Schofield (5), Vlasceanu (2), Joksimovic (1)
Saves: Otto, 5 saves, 19 GA, .208 Save Percentage
Game One: No. 16 Bucknell 15, MIT 9
Bucknell used a fast start to pull ahead of MIT, scoring 6 goals in the first period to take a 6-2 lead. After the first goal by the Engineers, Cullen Jacuzzi found the back of the cage to pull the Bison even. Another goal by the Engineers gave MIT a 2-1 lead, but 5-0 run by the Bison ended the quarter to give Bucknell a 6-4 lead after one. Freshman Andu Vlasceanu began his college career with a bang, scoring three of Bucknell's five goals during that run. Logan Schofield also added a goal during the stretch.
Four more goals by the Bison in the second period, including two straight from Rade Joksimovic, gave the Bison a 10-4 lead at the half.
Bucknell continued to keep its foot on the gas in the third, scoring twice more. Bucknell added three more strikes in the fourth to earn the 15-9 season-opening win.
Bucknell's 15 goals were scored by just five different players, with Joksimovic leading the way with five goals. Vlasceanu added four goals in his collegiate debut, while Schofield, Jared Stanley, and Jacuzzi added two goals apiece. Jack Otto, after making a career-high 19 saves in the MAWPC Championship last fall, had another solid game in the cage, adding eight saves. Bucknell converted 15 of its 29 shot attempts.
Goals: Vlasceanu (5), Joksimovic (4) Jacuzzi (2), Stanley (2), Schofield (2)
Assists: Joksimovic, Paine, Vlasceanu, Blackwell
Steals: Vlasceanu (3), Joksimovic, Paine, Schofield, Brill, Blackwell, Otto
Ejections Drawn: Schofield (3), Joksimovic, Blackwell
Saves: Otto 8 saves, 9 goals allowed, .455 save pct.
Game Two: No. 16 Bucknell 20, No. 16 Cal Baptist 19
The two teams found their offense early on, with Bucknell outscoring the Lancers 11-7 in the opening period. Cal Baptist took the early lead on a goal by Logan Mena, but a penalty shot by Joksimovic on an exclusion drawn by Blackwell helped the Bison tie things up. Jacuzzi found his groove early on, scoring two of his three goals in the opening frame as Bucknell took a 7-4 lead. Joksimovic also provided a spark in the early goings, netting six of his eight total goals in the first period.
The second quarter proved to be different for both teams, as the two ranked foes buckled down and didn't allow a goal as the score remained 11-7 entering the break.
The Lancers pulled within two in the third quarter after outscoring the Bison 6-4 in the period, and eventually brought the game to a one-goal deficit in the fourth after outscoring the Bison 6-5 in that frame. A goal by Vlasceanu helped Bucknell restore the three-goal advantage in the fourth, 19-16, but the Lancers brought the Bison advantage back down to two with a goal by Mena, who finished with four tallies on the day, on the powerplay. Logan Schofield found the back of the cage on an unassisted goal for Bucknell's final tally, but the Lancers wouldn't go away quietly.
Back-to-back goals by Cal Baptist brought the Lancers within one, 20-19, with just seconds to go. Cal Baptist had seemingly managed to come all the way back on a goal by Joseph Galgani at the buzzer, but his shot was waved off as Bucknell held on for the one-goal win.
The win by the Bison was the first since 2015 against the Lancers. Joksimovic netted a season-high eight goals, while Andu Vlasceanu added four. goals. Joksimovic, who had six steals between the two games, now needs just six more to break Bucknell's all-time steals record of 253 set by Jay Danforth from 2001-04.
Goals: Joksimovic (8), Vlasceanu (4), Stanley (3), Jacuzzi (2), Schofield (2), Blackwell
Assists: Vlasceanu (2), Joksimovic, Schofield
Steals: Joksimovic (5), Vlasceanu (2), Fazekas
Ejections Drawn: Schofield (5), Vlasceanu (2), Joksimovic (1)
Saves: Otto, 5 saves, 19 GA, .208 Save Percentage
Players Mentioned
ATK
/ Men's Water Polo
ATK
/ Men's Water Polo
C
/ Men's Water Polo
ATK
/ Men's Water Polo
ATK
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