| Box Score 2

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The Connecticut College men's water polo team kicked off the 2026 season, playing two games against Division I opponents LIU and Air Force, at the 2026 Bruno Classic hosted by Brown University.

GAME ONE: LIU 19, Conn 7

Conn kicked off the new campaign against former conference foe Long Island University, ultimately falling to the Sharks 19-7 on Sunday morning. The Camels nearly struck first a minute into the contest as Cormac Stevens (Philadelphia, Pa.) put a turnaround shot just wide of the post. LIU broke the ice at 6:46 on a goal from Jack French, before extending the lead to 4-0 midway through the opening frame. Conn got the board with 2:44 left, after Zach Dixon (Wayne, Pa.) drew an exclusion, allowing Jesse Ellis (Fresno, Calif.) to find Stevens in front of the cage to make it 4-1. The Sharks beat the buzzer to end the quarter in front 5-1.

LIU tallied three goals in the first two minutes of the second quarter to push the lead to 8-1. The Camels ended the run with five minutes remaining as Ellis converted on a penalty shot. The Sharks added another goal late in the frame to take a 9-2 advantage into the break.

LIU scored 20 seconds into the second half to push the lead to 10-2, before the Camel attack answered with a 3-1 run. Stevens started the run with his second tally of the day, before Keegan Kosiba (Birmingham, Mich.) notched a power play marker, and Bruno Beznos (Boca Raton, Fla.) recorded his first collegiate tally to make it 11-5. However, the Sharks responded with their own 3-1 run, with Jeffrey Harrington (San Diego, Calif.) tallying the lone goal for the Camels, as LIU led 14-6 heading to the fourth.

The squads traded the first two goals of the final quarter, with Conn getting a marker from Andrew Rose (Dresher, Pa.), who notched his first career goal on a power play marker off an assist from Kale Halfacre (Aurora, Colo.) making the score 15-7 with four and a half minutes to play. LIU ended the contest with the final four goals to come away with the 19-7 win.

GAME TWO: Air Force 24, Conn 7

Conn closed out the day falling to the United States Air Force Academy 24-7. The Falcons dominated the opening quarter, jumping out to a 5-0 lead at the midway point, before adding three more goals over the final two and half minutes to lead 8-0 after one. Air Force pushed the lead to 9-0 early in the second quarter, before back-to-back goals from Thomas McDonough (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) and Stevens got the Camels on the board down 9-2. The Falcons ended the half with six more goals to take a 15-2 advantage into the break.

The scoring slowed down in the third quarter as each team scored two goals. Air Force scored the first goal, before Conn responded with two straight power play goals from Stevens and Harrington to make it 16-4. The Falcons tacked on one more goal in the frame to lead 17-4 heading to the fourth. Air Force outscored Conn 7-3 in the final quarter, with the Camels getting one goal from Harrington, Ellis, and the first career tally from Laird Welch (Carmel, Calif.), as the Falcons came away with the 24-7 win.

Conn returns to action next weekend, as the Camels travel to Washington, Pa. for four games beginning at 2:40 p.m. on Saturday against Gannon University.