Scoreboard

Tom Marks

Men's Water Polo 9/8/2024 12:37:00 PM Bob Shreve, Assistant Director of Athletics Media Relations

Golden Knights beat Mount St. Mary's for the first time since 2021 behind six goals from Nikiforos Liantziris

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Gannon men's water polo team concluded play in the Navy Open on Sunday with a 14-12 win over Mount St. Mary's on Sunday morning. The Golden Knights end the opening weekend of the season with a 2-1 record after splitting a pair of matches on Saturday.

Gannon snapped a four-match losing streak to Division I Mount St. Mary's after losing twice to the Mounties a year ago and two times in 2022. The Golden Knights were a 13-11 winner in 2021.

Gannon returns to action next weekend in the Salem Open with a rematch against Mount St. Mary's on Saturday, September 14. That match takes place at 2:40 p.m. followed by another rematch with Johns Hopkins later in the day. The Golden Knights wrap up the two-day tournament in Morgantown, W.Va. against Toronto and LIU on Sunday.

How it Happened:

Unlike Saturday's matches Gannon jumped out to an early lead and never trailed after that. The Golden Knights led 5-2 after eight minutes and built the lead to 11-6 at the half. Mount St. Mary's was able to cut the deficit by a goal at 12-8 after three quarters but got no closer than the final margin in the final period.
Petar Markovic () scored the first two goals for Gannon. The Mounties tied the match at 2-2 midway through the first quarter before Victor Volant () gave Gannon the lead for good at 3-2 with 4:26 remaining. Gannon added two more goals in the period for a 5-2 lead.
With Gannon leading 6-4 just over two minutes into the second quarter, the Golden Knights ran off four straight goals to build the lead to 10-4. Nikiforos Liantziris (Athens, Greece), who led Gannon with six goals, scored twice in the run as Gannon entered the half with an 11-6 advantage.
Following a low-scoring third quarter, Gannon led 12-8 with eight minutes to play. Liantziris scored to give the Golden Knights a 13-8 lead, but the Mounties scored three straight goals to pull within two with still 2:44 remaining. Liantziris countered with a goal with 53 seconds left.

By the Numbers:

Newcomer Nikiforos Liantziris (Athens, Greece) led the way with six goals. Four other Golden Knights – Alexandros Kotskar (Voula, Greece/Athinaiki Agogh), Petar Markovic (), Victor Volant (), and Raymund Farsang – added two goals apiece.
Alvaro Marco (Madrid, Spain/IES Ortega y Gasset)s picked up his second win of the young season going all the way in goal.

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Players Mentioned

#10 Alexandros Kotskar: A; 6' 0"; Junior

#1 Alvaro Marco: GK; 5' 10"; Senior

#6 Petar Markovic: C; 6' 3"; Sophomore

#9 Nikiforos Liantziris: D; 5' 11"; Freshman

#12 Victor Volant: U; 6' 5"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#10 Alexandros Kotskar
: 6' 0"; Junior
: A

#1 Alvaro Marco
: 5' 10"; Senior
: GK

#6 Petar Markovic
: 6' 3"; Sophomore
: C

#9 Nikiforos Liantziris
: 5' 11"; Freshman
: D

#12 Victor Volant
: 6' 5"; Freshman
: U