Bison Drop Tough-Fought Battle Against No.19 Navy

LEWISBURG, Pa. - Bucknell put on a valiant effort against Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference rival No.19 Navy in a Sunday match-up, but the Midshipmen took home a 14-12 win. The Bison went 3-1 on a busy weekend of conference action.

Bucknell and Navy were neck and neck throughout the first half of play, with neither team leading by more than a goal. The Bison did not trail until the last three minutes of the half when Holden Seybold and Aiden Day scored a pair of goals to pull Navy ahead 5-3.

Sophomore attacker Aleksa Stefanovic took a shot that ricocheted off the post, where it ended up in the hands of fellow Bison sophomore attacker Ian Shultz, who pulled back to rocket a shot into the far end of Navy's net to close the gap to just one goal at the end of the half.

The Bison kicked off the second half when Stefanovic won the swim-off to earn first possession. Navy ultimately tallied the first two goals of the half to extend its lead. The Bison tried to get a shot up but was defended by Navy. Shortly after, on the return, first-year goalie David Dumitru made a massive save for the Bison to keep the Mids from extending its lead.

The Bison finally found the net at the 5-minute mark of the third quarter to close the gap when senior center Doruk Ozar scored. With less than 50 seconds on the clock, first-year attacker Sean Michael Tunnicliff made a successful play on the net to pull the Bison within 11-7.

The Bucknell offense slowed down and worked the ball around more in the final period, hoping to make a play on goal. The Bison succeeded when a pass from Stefanovic found its way to junior attacker Shay Gillearn, allowing him to skip the ball into the back of the net. Bucknell went on a roll and scored its second goal in a row when junior center defender Hasan Mogultay, amidst multiple defenders, managed to receive a pass and skip the ball into the back net.

The Bison defense caused three straight turnovers for the Midshipmen in the fourth period. Shultz, off one of those takeaways, found Stefanovic, who tallied his third goal for the Bison with less than three minutes of play remaining.

Later in the half, junior attacker Jack Bruce hit the net after a pass from Stefanovic put him in the ultimate scoring position. Later, senior attacker Walker Butler found junior center Matt Ryckman in the middle to close the gap to 14-12.

Bison Drop Tough-Fought Battle Against No.19 Navy

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Players Mentioned

Jack Bruce

Walker Butler

David Dumitru

Shay Gillearn

Hasan Mogultay

Doruk Ozar

Matt Ryckman

Ian Shultz

Aleksa Stefanovic

Sean Tunnicliff