ERIE, Pa. - The Gannon men's water polo team staged a comeback effort in the fourth quarter but fell just short Friday night at the Carneval Athletic Pavilion, falling to Mercyhurst by a score of 10-9.

Gannon headed into the fourth quarter down 10-6, but slowly chipped away at the Mercyhurst lead. The Golden Knights were able to out score Mercyhurst 3-0 in the quarter and had the ball with under a minute with a chance to tie, but the Lakers came up with a steal near the goal to seal the victory. 

Gannon and Mercyhurst were tied after the first quarter at two a piece thanks to goals by Gio Martino (Fort Lauderdale, Fla. / St. Thomas Aquinas) and Greg Naranjo (Coral Springs, Fla. / Stoneman Douglas). 

The two teams geared up the offense in the second quarter with 10 of the 19 goals coming in the eight-minute span. Mercyhurst stretched its lead to 6-2 before Naranjo and Martino each found the back of the goal for the second time. Daisuke Takagi (Tsukuba, Japan / Namiki) scored on back-to-back possessions for Gannon to put the score at 6-7. Mercyhurst ended the quarter with a goal, making the score 6-8. 

Gannon was shutout in the third quarter while the Lakers scored twice to lead by four before the Golden Knights went on a 3-0 run to end the game. 

Martino led the Gannon offense with three goals, followed by Takagi and Naranjo, who each had two. Kane Ashton led Mercyhurst with three goals. 

The Golden Knights now stand at 2-4 on the season and 1-1 in the Collegiate Water Polo Assocation (CWPA). Mercyhurst improves to 5-2 and 2-0 in CWPA matches. 

Gannon will return to the pool tomorrow afternoon to take on Notre Dame College (Ohio) in a exhibition match at Penn State Behrend. The Golden Knights will return home on Sunday for a pair of matches against Salem International (11 a.m.) and Penn State Behrend (2 p.m.)



Gannon Men's Water Polo Boxscore
vs. Mercyhurst
Friday, September 24, 2010

Team (1st - 2nd - 3rd - 4th - Final)
Gannon (2 - 4 - 0 - 3 - 9)
Mercyhurst (2 - 6 - 2 - 0 - 10)

Gannon Goals (9)
Gio Martino (3)
Greg Naranjo (2)
Daisuke Takagi (2)
Phil Myrick (1)
Kenny Milburn (2)

Mercyhurst Goals (10)
Kane Ashton (3)
William Page (2)
Josh Rodriguez (2)
Adam Borgman (1)
Brett Luehmann (1)
Danilo Svorcan (1)

Records
Gannon: 2-4, 1-1
Mercyhurst: 5-1, 2-0