Collegiate Water Polo Association

Men's Water Polo 11/3/2018 5:13:00 PM Josh Hill, Assistant Director of Athletics Media Relations

Top-Seeded Gannon Drops Opening Game Against McKendree, 12-9, in MAWPC-West Semifinals

THE RUNDOWN

Final Score: McKendree 12, Gannon 9
Records: Gannon (19-1) | McKendree (13-11)
Location: Hallman Aquatics Center – Erie, Pa.
The Short Story: Top-seeded Gannon came up short in its opening game of the 2018 MAWPC-West Regional Semifinals, falling 12-9 to McKendree on Saturday afternoon at the Hallman Aquatics Center. The Golden Knights were handed their first loss of the 2018 season and will cap the tournament tomorrow morning in the third-place game against either Salem or Mercyhurst.

GAMEDAY MEDIA CENTER

HOW IT HAPPENED

Despite scoring the first goal of the matchup on a tally from Zarko Sadikovic (Nis, Serbia/GTS Neimar), the Golden Knights were outscored 3-1 in the opening frame. Gannon responded with a pair of goals, courtesy of Robert Bolmanski (Erie, Pa./McDowell) and Riley Hinkley (Meshoppen, Pa./Princeton), to open the second quarter and tie the game at three.
MU responsed with two goals of its own for a 5-3 lead but the Golden Knights quickly rallied to thie the game at five with goals from Hinkley and Thomas Squeglia (Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep). The Bearcats scored the final two goals of the first half for a 7-5 edge.
McKendree started the second half strong, scoring the first three goals of the third quarter. Th. Squeglia answered with a strike at 3:53 left in the third but the Bearcats continued to pour it on with the final two tallied of the third frame. It was part of a 6-1 scoring stretch for the Bearcats that spanned the latter stages of the first half and the first minute of the fourth quarter.
Gannon scored three of the final four goals in the contest, but it was not enough as the Golden Knights fell 12-9.

GAME NOTES

Gannon was outscored despite a 39-34 lead in shots.
Th. Squeglia and Hinkley paced the Golden Knights with three goals each.
Brett Rehrer (Chino Hills, Calif./Chino Hills), the reigning MAWPC-West MVP, made 12 saves in goal with four steals and two assists.
Jake Rehrer (Chino Hills, Calif./Chino Hills) led all players with eight shots, but was unable to convert for any goals. He had an assist and a steal for the Golden Knights.
Sadikovic, the leading scorer for Gannon, was limited to his lone goal at the beginning of the game.
Gannon was 1-for-4 on powerplay chances.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

Today's loss was the first of the season for the Golden knights. They were the lone remaining undefeated team in the NCAA, riding a 20-game overall winning streak.
Head coach Sean Morphy was named the MAWPC-West Coach of the Year yesterday as the league named its major award winners and all-conference teams. It marks the third straight season that Morphy has won the award.
The Golden Knights placed three players on the MAWPC-West First Team and also had a selection named to the MAWPC-West Second Team.
Gannon held the No. 1 seed in this tournament last season following a 7-0 MAWPC-West slate and mowed through the championship field with victories over W&J (17-2) and La Salle University (12-9) prior to dropping Mercyhurst (15-10) for the program's first conference title.
Gannon had previously defeated McKendree, 10-6, on October 13. The Golden Knights overcame an early two-goal deficit with five straight goals in the victory. It was one of two victories against the Bearcats this season.
Gannon has already set the program record for wins in a single season with 19.

UP NEXT

Gannon wraps up the MAWPC-West Regional with a matchup tomorrow morning at 10:30 a.m. against the loser of the Mercyhurst and Salem matchup.
Mercyhurst and Salem play later today (November 3) at 5:00 p.m.
The winner of tomorrow's game will claim the third-place crown in the MAWPC-West Region Championship.
Live video is available, courtesy of CWPA-TV ($ - PPV).

Players Mentioned

#1 Brett Rehrer: Senior; Supply Chain Management/Sports Management and Marketing