NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Connecticut College men's water polo team kicked off MPSF Conference action going 1-2 across three games from the Barbara & Jerry Procton Pool.
GAME 1: Augustana 18, Conn 11
The first quarter was high scoring as the teams combined for 10 goals in the opening eight minutes. The squads traded the first six goals, with Conn getting one goal from Cormac Stevens (Philadelphia, Pa.), Jesse Ellis (Fresno, Calif.), and Zach Dixon (Wayne, Pa.). With the score tied at three, the Camels ended the quarter with a 3-1 run, as Paul Podrebarac (Friendswood, Texas), Dixon, and Stevens had Conn in front 6-4 after one.
Stevens scored a minute and half into the second quarter to extend the lead to 7-4. Augustana ended the run with a goal at 4:36, but Dixon cancelled out the tally thirty seconds later. The Vikings ended the quarter with the final two goals, as the Camels led 8-7 at the break.
Bruno Beznos (Boca Raton, Fla.) opened the second half scoring, before a 4-0 run from Augustana put the Vikings in front 11-9. Stevens ended the run, but Rhys Lomax beat the buzzer to make it 12-10 Augustana heading to the fourth. The Vikings outscored Conn 6-1 in the final frame, with the lone Camels tally coming from Stevens on a penalty shot, as Conn fell 18-11.
GAME 2: Conn 14, W&J 11
W&J started quickly, jumping out to an early 2-0 lead. Conn got on the board with 45 seconds left in the opening frame, as Ellis converted on a penalty shot, before the Presidents and Camels traded one more goal each, with Beznos finding the back of the cage to put W&J up 3-2 after one.
Conn opened the second quarter with back-to-back tallies from Ethan Hipsky (Glastonbury, Conn.) and Stevens to give the Camels their first lead. W&J evened the score at four apiece, before Conn ended the quarter with two of the final three goals, as Stevens and Laird Welch (Carmel, Calif.) gave the Camels a 6-5 lead at the break.
The Presidents scored the first two goals of the second half to jump back in front 7-6. However, Conn answered with the last three goals of the quarter, as Beznos, Stevens, and Welch each scored to put the Camels in front 9-7 heading to the fourth. Conn outscored W&J 5-4 in the final frame, with Ellis notching two goals, while Dixon, Podrebarac, and Stevens chipped in one more goal each to give the Camels the 14-11 win.
GAME 3: JHU, Conn
Conn wrapped up the weekend by taking on host Johns Hopkins. The hosts started fast, jumping out to a 4-0 lead, before Benjamin Turner (Bellaire, Texas) scored on the power play with 11 seconds left, as the Blue Jays led 4-1 after one. Hopkins tallied the next four goals, before Beznos scored on a power play opportunity to make it 8-2. The Blue Jays added one more goal in the period, to lead 9-2 at the break.
Both sides tallied three goals in the third quarter, as Hopkins led 12-5 heading to the fourth. In the third, Beznos, Ellis, and Stevens all found the back of the net for Conn. The Blue Jays outscored the Camels 6-3 in the final frame, with Conn getting two goals from Keegan Kosiba (Birmingham, Mich.) and one more from Beznos, as the Camels fell 18-8.
Conn (4-15) returns home for the final time on Wednesday night as the Camels host Wheaton at 7:00 p.m. in Lott Natatorium.
