Men's Water Polo | October 19, 2019

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Men's water polo had two very different games against two formidable opponents to open up the Harvard Invite Saturday. In the morning, they fell to #20 St. Francis Brooklyn 21-2, but later made a much closer contest against Brown in a 12-9 defeat. Junior Daniel Domotor paced the Explorers with four goals over the two games.
 
St. Francis Brooklyn 21, La Salle 2
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Terriers opened up a commanding lead to start the game, taking the first quarter 4-0.
• The following frame was more tightly fought. Although St. Francis opened with two more goals, Domotor got the Blue & Gold on the board. The Terriers responded with another strike to push the lead to 7-1.
• The team from New York scored three to open the third. Senior Joey DeFusco rattled the cage for La Salle's second, but the Terriers then netted four to take a 14-2 advantage into the final quarter.
• St. Francis continued to see its victory to end, scoring seven unanswered in the fourth.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Domotor and DeFusco were the goalscorers, provided by seniors Jacob Camacho and Waechter.
• Junior Cole Strohson and freshman Callin Chimilar were tied for the team lead in exclusions earned, finishing with two each.
• Junior Karl Miller finished with the most blocks for La Salle with a pair, also adding an assist.
• In net, freshman Adriano Zunino recorded nine saves on 16 shots.

 
Brown 12, La Salle 9
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The opening quarter was a riveting back-and-forth game where neither team allowed the other to embark on a run. Brown opened the scoring, La Salle responded, Brown scored again, La Salle answered, Brown struck for a third, La Salle equalized. Eventually the Explorers took the lead through freshman Jorden McVeagh, only for the Bears to respond and level things at 4-4 after one.
• The Ivy League side opened up a two-goal advantage to begin the second, one which La Salle duly erased through tallies from Domotor and sophomore Tyler Williams. The Bears got the final goal of the half to take a 7-6 lead into the break.
• Brown continued to push its lead out of the intermission, with three straight scores making it 10-6. DeFusco and Domotor brought goals back for the Explorers, but again the Bears ended with a final goal.
• Down 11-8, La Salle had to make a strong push in the fourth quarter, but Brown battened down defensively. The two teams split the final frame 1-1 and the Bears emerged with a narrow victory.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Domotor was the top man in front of net for La Salle, netting a hattrick against the Bears. Strohson was the team's top provider with two assists.
• The Explorers' number four had a solid game overall, finishing with a team-high three steals, an exclusion earned and a block.
• Sophomore Robert Greene was the top field blocker for La Salle, ending up with two at the end of the game.
• Zunino again had a solid game, despite being barraged by the Bears. The goalkeeper saved 12 of 24 shots.

UP NEXT

• The Explorers have one more day in Massachusetts. On Sunday, they'll face #17 Pomona-Pitzer and #9 Harvard with both matches being streamed on ESPN+.