Friday, November 19
Annapolis, Md.
4:30 p.m.
Bucknell University
vs
No. 5 Wagner
Photo by: Marc Hagemeier
Bucknell Men's Water Polo Begins Postseason Play Against Wagner on Friday
11/17/2021 3:10:00 PM | Men's Water Polo
No. 4 Bucknell Will Play No. 5 Wagner in First Round
LEWISBURG, Pa. – The Bucknell University men's water polo team will vie for its third straight MAWPC title over the weekend when it travels to Annapolis, Md. for the MAWPC Championships. Fourth-seeded Bucknell is scheduled to play its quarterfinal game on Friday at 4:30 p.m. against fifth-seeded Wagner.
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- Bucknell secured the four seed with a win over Mount Saint Mary's over the weekend, edging out Wagner for the fourth spot based on goal differential over the Seahawks. The Bison will match up with the Seahawks once more on Friday at 4:30 in the second game of the tournament.
- Four games will be contested on Friday as a part of the MAWPC quarterfinals beginning at 3 p.m. with the last game of the day scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. start.
- The winner of Friday's matchup between Wagner and Bucknell will move on to the MAWPC semifinals against the winner of the opening game of No. 1 seed Fordham against No. 8 seed Mount St. Mary's on Saturday at 4:30 p.m.
- Bucknell split two meetings with the Seahawks this season, both in Lewisburg. Bucknell dropped an 11-14 decision on September 18, before coming back with a win eight days later by a 9-5 score.
- Josh Yardley has scored nine times in two matchups against Wagner this season, including a career-best six-goal haul in Bucknell's 14-11 defeat.
- Yardley leads all goal scorers for the Bison this season with 55 goals as the only Bison to surpass the 50-goal threshold in 2021. Four other Bison have accumulated 25 or more goals this season in Andu Vlasceanu (35), Hasan Mogultay (35), Doruk Ozar (27) and Jack Lewis (26). Four other Bison have scored at least 19 goals this season in Matt Ryckman (19), Walker Butler (16), Ethan Jones (15), and Shay Gillearn (15).
- Bucknell has earned the last three Player of the Tournament honors in the MAWPC Tournament. Rade Joksimovic was named the most valuable player in 2018 and 2019, while Adrien Touzot earned the distinction after an impressive 12-save performance in the championship game against La Salle.
- The Bison have scored 243 goals this season, with 56 percent of those goals coming in the second and third quarters. Bucknell has scored 68 goals in the second quarter, and 69 in the third quarter this season compared to 58 goals in the first and 48 goals in the fourth period.
- Bucknell has stepped up defensively in recent times, holding its opponents to under eight goals for the past three matchups, and in five of its last six outings.
- Bucknell is 9-2 in the all-time series against the Seahawks, however, Bucknell's other defeat to Wagner came in the MAWPC semifinals in 2017, which was also held in Annapolis as the Seahawks managed to usurp the Bison, who were the No. 1 seed entering that game.
- This will be Bucknell's first year since the formation of the MAWPC that it will not be the No. 1 seed. Bucknell has won the last two championships as the No. 1 seed, and also took home the title in 2016 as the top overall team. George Washington has claimed the other two titles in 2017 and 2018. The Colonials won the Tournament as the No. 2 seed in 2017, before going on to repeat as the champion once again as the No. 2 seed in 2018.
- Bucknell has lost by a combined three goals in its last three matchups against No. 1 seed Fordham and No. 2 Navy, falling in all three games by a one-goal margin. The Bison are 11-2 in 13 career games in the MAWPC tournament.
- Wagner will enter the game at 16-15 this year, finishing with an identical 6-6 record in MAWPC games this season. The Seahawks have won three straight and six of their last eight contests entering Friday's matchup against the Bison.
- Both teams will be guaranteed three games in the MAWPC Tournament, with the winner moving on to Saturday's 4:30 p.m. game and the loser playing on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
Players Mentioned
ATK
/ Men's Water Polo
ATK
/ Men's Water Polo
UTL
/ Men's Water Polo
ATK
/ Men's Water Polo
CD
/ Men's Water Polo
Center
/ Men's Water Polo
C
/ Men's Water Polo
GK
/ Men's Water Polo
ATK
/ Men's Water Polo
ATK
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