Saturday, October 22
Santa Clara, Calif.
3 p.m. (ET)
Bucknell University
9
vs
11
No. 15 San Jose State
Photo by: Santa Clara Athletics
Men's Water Polo Falls in Two Close Contests to Ranked Opponents in California
10/22/2022 9:55:00 PM | Men's Water Polo
SANTA CLARA, CALIF. – The Bucknell University men's water polo team dropped two close contests to No. 15 San Jose State and No. 17 Santa Clara on Saturday afternoon in the first day of the Julian Fraser Memorial Invitational.
The Bison fell to the Spartans 11-9 in the first contest, before dropping another two-goal game against the host Broncos, 13-11.
Game One: No. 15 San Jose State 11, Bucknell 9
The Bison fell short in a back-and-forth affair in game one. Bucknell trailed 4-3 with 5:20 to go in the second quarter, but a goal by the Spartans gave San Jose State a multiple-goal lead that it would never relinquish at the 3:50 mark.
San Jose State added to its lead with one more goal to close the half, as Bucknell never managed to move closer than two goals the rest of the way. Hasan Mogultay helped the Bison start the second half with some momentum with a goal, but the Spartans found a response on all three occasions that the Bison cut the lead to two as it took a 9-6 lead after three.
Goals by Mogultay and Andu Vlasceanu in the fourth cut the Spartan lead to two in two more instances, but Itay Nemet of SJSU found a late insurance goal with 2:01 left in the game to take a three-goal lead, 11-8, and eventually seal victory.
Mogultay and Jack Lewis each scored three goals in the defeat, while Vlasceanu scored twice and added two assists. Doruk Ozar tallied Bucknell's other goal while drawing two ejections. Senior Adrien Touzot had 12 saves in the cage for Bucknell.
Game Two: No. 17 Santa Clara 13, Bucknell 11
Santa Clara scored the eventual game-winning goal with 2:25 to go on the powerplay, staving off a resilient Bucknell team that had led late into the third quarter against the homestanding Broncos.
The two teams never led by more than one goal until the final four minutes of the game, with Bucknell managing to pull back within a single goal at the 2:56 mark on a goal by Aleksa Stefanovic to cut the Santa Clara lead to 11-10. However, the Broncos scored two of the next three goals over the next two minutes in a late surge to hand Bucknell its second defeat of the day.
Bucknell led at the half thanks to a strong start from Stefanovic, who scored three of his six goals on the day in the opening 16 minutes. The strong opening frames were highlighted by a late goal from Ian Shultz, who helped Bucknell convert on the power play with 19 seconds left on an exclusion drawn by Matt Ryckman to take a 6-5 lead at the break.
However, the Broncos took the lead for good on a goal by Bennett Stafford to end the third to take a 9-8 lead. Stefanovic scored his final goal of the day on the powerplay on an exclusion he drew himself and cut the lead to 11-10, but the Broncos managed to stave off a Bucknell comeback attempt in taking a 13-11 win.
Stefanovic led all scorers with six goals, while Ozar added a pair of goals. Touzot made 13 saves in the cage for the Bison, who return to action tomorrow with games against Fresno Pacific and No. 3 Stanford to close the tournament.
The Bison fell to the Spartans 11-9 in the first contest, before dropping another two-goal game against the host Broncos, 13-11.
Game One: No. 15 San Jose State 11, Bucknell 9
The Bison fell short in a back-and-forth affair in game one. Bucknell trailed 4-3 with 5:20 to go in the second quarter, but a goal by the Spartans gave San Jose State a multiple-goal lead that it would never relinquish at the 3:50 mark.
San Jose State added to its lead with one more goal to close the half, as Bucknell never managed to move closer than two goals the rest of the way. Hasan Mogultay helped the Bison start the second half with some momentum with a goal, but the Spartans found a response on all three occasions that the Bison cut the lead to two as it took a 9-6 lead after three.
Goals by Mogultay and Andu Vlasceanu in the fourth cut the Spartan lead to two in two more instances, but Itay Nemet of SJSU found a late insurance goal with 2:01 left in the game to take a three-goal lead, 11-8, and eventually seal victory.
Mogultay and Jack Lewis each scored three goals in the defeat, while Vlasceanu scored twice and added two assists. Doruk Ozar tallied Bucknell's other goal while drawing two ejections. Senior Adrien Touzot had 12 saves in the cage for Bucknell.
Game Two: No. 17 Santa Clara 13, Bucknell 11
Santa Clara scored the eventual game-winning goal with 2:25 to go on the powerplay, staving off a resilient Bucknell team that had led late into the third quarter against the homestanding Broncos.
The two teams never led by more than one goal until the final four minutes of the game, with Bucknell managing to pull back within a single goal at the 2:56 mark on a goal by Aleksa Stefanovic to cut the Santa Clara lead to 11-10. However, the Broncos scored two of the next three goals over the next two minutes in a late surge to hand Bucknell its second defeat of the day.
Bucknell led at the half thanks to a strong start from Stefanovic, who scored three of his six goals on the day in the opening 16 minutes. The strong opening frames were highlighted by a late goal from Ian Shultz, who helped Bucknell convert on the power play with 19 seconds left on an exclusion drawn by Matt Ryckman to take a 6-5 lead at the break.
However, the Broncos took the lead for good on a goal by Bennett Stafford to end the third to take a 9-8 lead. Stefanovic scored his final goal of the day on the powerplay on an exclusion he drew himself and cut the lead to 11-10, but the Broncos managed to stave off a Bucknell comeback attempt in taking a 13-11 win.
Stefanovic led all scorers with six goals, while Ozar added a pair of goals. Touzot made 13 saves in the cage for the Bison, who return to action tomorrow with games against Fresno Pacific and No. 3 Stanford to close the tournament.
Players Mentioned
ATK
/ Men's Water Polo
CD
/ Men's Water Polo
Center
/ Men's Water Polo
C
/ Men's Water Polo
ATK
/ Men's Water Polo
ATK
/ Men's Water Polo
GK
/ Men's Water Polo
ATK
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