Men's Water Polo | September 7, 2019

ANNAPOLIS, Md. –Men's water polo earned its first victory of the season, outscoring Austin College in the second half 10-5 to claim victory. Sophomore Tyler Williams led the Explorers with four goals, while senior Joey DeFusco was the top point man with a hattrick and two assists. Earlier in the day, the Explorers dropped its opening game of the season to #12 Princeton.
 
Princeton 15, La Salle 4
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Tigers dominated the opening quarter, taking a 4-0 lead. The Ivy League school continued to score unanswered into the second frame until freshman Callin Chimilar netted the Explorers' first of the season. Junior Karl Miller followed with a goal of his own to make it 6-2, then Princeton scored three straight.
• Princeton continued to apply pressure into the third, outscoring La Salle 5-1, with the sole goal coming from senior Jacob Camacho. A 14-3 deficit heading into the fourth was too much for the Explorers, and the two teams ended up scoring a goal apiece. Notably, the final strike came from the left hand of freshman Chris Scoboria.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Scoboria and sophomore Josh Delillo both finished with a team-high two points. The rookie scored and assisted once, while La Salle's number three had a pair of assists.
• The rookies contributed in the season opener, with Scoboria and Chimilar on the scoresheet. Freshman goalkeeper Adriano Zunino had a team-high six saves on 12 shots faced. Additionally, fellow classmates Derek Allen and Jorden McVeagh recorded one exclusion earned each, while Ky Jagaroo finished with a block. The freshmen played the final two minutes of the game and managed to create two scoring chances.
• Sophomore Robert Greene led the Explorers in exclusions earned with five on the day.

 
La Salle 14, Austin College 11
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Kangaroos jumped out to a 3-0 advantage three minutes into the game, but La Salle kept its composure and narrowed the deficit through goals from junior Daniel Domotor and the rookie Allen.
• The Explorers then tied things up to start the second frame with DeFusco getting on the board. Austin College would respond with three unanswered before Domotor stopped the run at 6-4, keeping La Salle within distance.
• The Blue & Gold began the third on fire, netting through four different players. That advantage would be short lived, however, as the 'Roos fought back to level things at 9-9 heading into the decisive final period.
• A few key players came to the fore in the fourth for the Explorers. Williams scored twice to give La Salle an 11-9 lead. When Austin College fought back to level things, it was DeFusco and junior Cole Strohson who got the Explorers back on top before Williams iced it with his fourth of the contest.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• ­The top scorer race is already heating up, with plenty of Explorers making their marks in the stat sheet against the team from Texas. DeFusco had five points and was closely followed by Williams, Strohson (goal, three assists), and Domotor (three goals, one assist) all on four points.
• While Chimilar and Scoboria netted their first career goals against the Tigers, two different freshmen had their milestone moment against the 'Roos. Allen and McVeagh both found the back of the net for their first collegiate strikes.
• Domotor led the Explorers in steals with six, senior Luke Waechter paced the team in kickouts draw with three and Strohson tallied a pair of blocks to lead the team in that category.
• Junior goalkeeper Cameron Schiable recorded six saves on 11 shots, also adding two steals to the mix.

 UP NEXT

• La Salle is back in action and looking for its second victory of the season tomorrow. On the docket is Fordham at 9:15 a.m. and #2 UCLA at 1 p.m.