NORTON, Mass. – The Connecticut College men's water polo team opened the season splitting two contests, falling to Austin College 15-13, before beating host Wheaton College 22-8 on Sunday from Balfour Natatorium.
Game 1: Austin 15, Conn 13
Conn started quickly, jumping out to an early 1-0 lead as Siaki Nelson (Houston, Texas) put the Camels in front at 6:12. Austin answered with two straight goals to go in front, but at 4:24 Jeffrey Harrington (San Diego, Calif.) evened the score at two. The Roos responded with two goals, leading 4-2 after one.
Austin opened the second quarter with three of the first four goals as the Roos extended the lead to 7-3. However, Conn came roaring back with three straight markers, with Nelson recording one and Jesse Ellis (Fresno, Calif.) notching two. The teams traded a goal a piece over the final two minutes, with Harrington connecting for the Camels as Austin led 8-7 at the half.
Conn tied the game early in the third quarter off a marker from Cormac Stevens (Philadelphia, Pa.) and from there the teams traded markers, but Austin led 12-10 heading to the fourth. Stevens cut the deficit to one at 7:38, but back-to-back markers from the Roos pushed the lead to 14-11. Conn answered with consecutive goals from Harrington to make it a one goal game with 3:21 to play, but Austin added one more goal to come away with the 15-13 win.
Sebastian Parilov (Brooklyn, N.Y.) got the start in goal, making 12 saves. Harrington paced the Camels with six goals and two assists, while Ellis added three goals and one assist, with both Nelson and Stevens each adding two.
Game 2: Conn 22, Wheaton 8
Conn opened up game two with two quick goals, as Stevens and Ellis both hit the mark, before Wheaton answered with two goals of their own. With the game tied at two, Conn ended the opening quarter on a 4-1 run to lead 6-3, as Stevens gave the Camels the lead with Harrington adding three tallies.
The second quarter was all Conn, as the Camels outscored the Lyons 4-1 in the frame. Harrington, Stevens, Carson Neidert (West Palm Beach, Fla.), and Thomas McDonough (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) each tallied one goal as the Camels led 10-4 at the break.
The strong play continued for Conn in the second half, using a 6-1 run in the third quarter to put the game out of reach. Six different Camels found the back of the net in the frame, with Stevens, Harrington, Nelson, and McDonough all scoring, while Augie Loredo (Houston, Texas) and Keegan Kosiba (Birmingham, Mich.) both scored their first career goals, giving Conn a 16-5 lead heading to the fourth.
Paul Podrebarac (Friendswood, Texas) opened the final quarter with his first two collegiate goals, before Wheaton answered with three straight. However, Conn recorded the final four goals, with Brevin Master (Burlingame, Calif.) tallying one and McDonough adding three more, to give Conn the 22-8 win.
Artem Kyselov (Dnipro, Ukraine) played the entire game in goal recording 24 saves. McDonough led Conn with seven points on five goals and two assists while Harrington added six points with five goals and one assist. Stevens added four goals, Podrebarac notching two goals and one assist, with Ellis, Kosiba, Loredo, Master, Neidert, and Nelson all adding one goal.
Conn (1-1 overall) heads to Erie, Pa. for the Erie Invite hosted by Penn State Behrend for four games, beginning on Saturday, Sept. 21 against Mercyhurst at 9:00 a.m.
