Scott Padula
Staff Writer
The men’s water polo team kicked off league play this past weekend with a losses to No. 17 Navy, George Washington and Johns Hopkins. The Orange and Blue, under second year coach John McBride, are now 4-8 on the season and 0-3 in conference play.
To start the road trip, the Bison lost 11-6 to No. 17 Navy. The Orange and Blue were unable to stop the overwhelming Navy offense, allowing three goals in each of the first two quarters and being outscored in the first three. Despite the disappointing result, Jack Else ’14 was fantastic for the Bison, drawing a school record-breaking 10 ejections in the loss. Mike Kimble ’14 led the Orange and Blue in scoring, finding the back of the net twice for the team’s only multi-goal performance. In goal, Matt Napleton ’13 stopped seven shots in 32 minutes of play.
In the team’s second game, the Orange and Blue lost a disappointing game to George Washington, 15-12. The Bison looked flat to start the game, getting outscored 9-2 in the first half. The majority of the deficit was the result of the second quarter, in which the Orange and Blue were held scoreless while allowing five goals. Despite outscoring the Colonials 6-1 in the fourth quarter, the Bison were unable to overcome the seven goal deficit in the second half.
Against the Colonials, Else scored a personal best of seven goals and tallied six more ejections. His seven goals were the most scored by a Bison since 2007. Other multi-point performances came from Kimble, Brian Barron ’13 and Stefan Aleksic ’16. Kimble scored three goals and had an assist, while Aleksic had five assists and Barron two. Napleton was strong in goal again, making eight saves in 32 minutes.
To wrap up the trip, the Orange and Blue went to Baltimore to face Johns Hopkins. The Bison jumped out to an early lead in the first quarter, outscoring the Blue Jays 5-3. The Bison had another weak second quarter where they were held scoreless while allowing four goals. In the second half, the Orange and Blue outscored Johns Hopkins 8-7 but were unable to overcome the two goal deficit. The Bison failed to tie the game in the final possession of the contest, leading to a 14-13 loss.
Barron and Aleksic led the team in scoring with three goals apiece. Else and Kimble also had multi-goal performances with two goals each. In addition, Else recorded seven more ejections, pushing his total to 43 on the season and 148 in his career. Else’s season total is more than three times that of anyone else on the team and his career mark of 148 is now fourth on the Bison’s career ejection total. In the losing effort, Napleton stopped seven shots in 32 minutes of action. Napleton now has 100 saves on the season.
“We came out flat for a couple of the games and our opponents took advantage. The biggest thing we need to fix heading into the Bison Invitational is our attitude and approach to the games. Every time we enter the water, we have to set the tone with physicality and urgency. We’re a talented team and we’re underperforming. It’s time to get angry and do something about it,” co-captain Napleton said.
The Orange and Blue will try to gain momentum this weekend when they host the Bison Invitational on Sept. 29 and 30. The Bison will kick off the invitational against MIT at noon on tomorrow. They will also face the University of Toronto, the Naval Academy’s “B” team and Harvard this weekend.