BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. – The Gannon men's water polo team opened Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) action with a 20-17 setback against Salem University on Friday evening at the WWPA West Virginia Showdown.
Nikiforos Liantziris (Athens, Greece/1o EPAL Zografou) led the Golden Knights with five goals and two assists for a team-high seven points, while Giacomo Peretti (Verona, Italy/Liceo G. Fracastoro) added six points on two goals and four assists.
Salem outscored Gannon 7-4 in the third quarter to build an 18-13 advantage entering the final eight minutes. The Golden Knights responded with three unanswered goals from Liantziris and Victor Volant (Fuveau, France/Font d'Aurumy) to cut the deficit to 18-16 with 3:57 remaining. Gannon outscored Salem 4-2 in the final period but could not complete the comeback.
THE GAME FACTS
Score: Salem 20, Gannon 17
Records: Gannon (7-8, 0-1 WWPA), Salem (7-11, 1-0 WWPA)
Location: WWPA West Virginia Showdown – Bridgeport, W.Va.
Date: Friday, October 23, 2026
THE KNIGHT CAP
- Liantziris Leads the Offense: Nikiforos Liantziris (Athens, Greece/1o EPAL Zografou) paced the Golden Knights with five goals on seven shots while adding two assists for a team-high seven points.
- Peretti's Six-Point Performance: Giacomo Peretti (Verona, Italy/Liceo G. Fracastoro) finished with two goals and a team-high four assists, contributing to six of Gannon's 17 goals.
- Three-Goal Performances: Petar Markovic (Belgrade, Serbia/Sports High School of Belgrade) and Victor Volant (Fuveau, France/Font d'Aurumy) each recorded hat tricks. Volant added an assist to finish with four points, while Markovic led Gannon with three drawn exclusions.
- Fast Start: Markovic opened the scoring just 19 seconds into the contest. The Golden Knights scored five times in the opening quarter but trailed 6-5 after eight minutes.
- First-Half Battle: Gannon added four goals in the second quarter, including Markovic's third of the contest, but Salem maintained an 11-9 advantage at halftime.
- Offensive Contributions: Nine Golden Knights found the back of the net, with Dominic Demeritte (Nassau, Bahamas/Blake Academy), Mateja Zjacic (Belgrade, Serbia/High School of Electrical Engineering "Nikola Tesla"), Rajmund Farsang (Eger, Hungary/Neumann Janos Gimnazium) and Nick Thompson (Hudsonville, Mich./Hudsonville) each adding one goal.
- Between the Pipes: Djordje Stefanovic (Belgrade, Serbia/Gimnazija Patrijarh Pavle) played all 32 minutes in goal, finishing with seven saves.
Up Next
The Golden Knights continue WWPA action at the WWPA West Virginia Showdown on Saturday, October 24, when they face McKendree at 2:30 p.m. in Bridgeport, W.Va.
This story was written using the support of AI.
