Men's Water Polo | 8/29/2026 10:19:00 PM

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The Gannon men's water polo team opened the 2026 season with a pair of contests on Saturday at the Bruno Classic hosted by Brown University.

The Golden Knights opened the day against No. 5 Fordham, falling 25-5, before battling LIU down to the wire in a 14-13 setback. Gannon erased multiple deficits against LIU and held a pair of fourth-quarter leads before the Sharks used a late three-goal run to pull ahead.

THE GAME FACTS
Game One: No. 5 Fordham 25, Gannon 5
Records: Gannon 0-1 | Fordham 2-0
Location: Katherine Moran Coleman Aquatics Center | Providence, R.I.
Date: August 29, 2026

THE KNIGHT CAP

• Zjacic Strikes Twice: Mateja Zjacic (Belgrade, Serbia/High School of Electrical Engineering "Nikola Tesla") led the Golden Knights with two goals on three shots, scoring both during the second quarter.
• Volant Adds Two: Victor Volant (Fuveau, France/Font d'Aurumy) matched Zjacic with two goals, scoring both in the fourth quarter. He also led Gannon with three steals.
• Snider-Mills Opens Scoring: Callum Snider-Mills (Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep) scored Gannon's first goal of the 2026 season with 3:17 remaining in the opening quarter.
• Strong Second Quarter: Gannon scored twice in the second period, with Zjacic finding the back of the net at the 7:04 and 0:55 marks.
• Defensive Activity: The Golden Knights totaled eight steals, led by Volant's three. Nikiforos Liantziris (Athens, Greece/1o EPAL Zografou) added two.
• Sharing the Ball: Dominic Demeritte (Nassau, Bahamas/Blake Academy), Liantziris and Nick Thompson (Hudsonville, Mich./Hudsonville) each recorded an assist for the Golden Knights.
• In Goal: Bator Mohacsi (Budapest, Hungary/ELTE Apáczai Csere János Gyakorló Gimnázium és Kollégium) recorded seven saves while playing 30 minutes in goal.

 
THE GAME FACTS
Game Two: LIU 14, Gannon 13
Records: Gannon 0-2 | LIU 2-0
Location: Katherine Moran Coleman Aquatics Center | Providence, R.I.
Date: August 29, 2026

THE KNIGHT CAP

• Balanced Attack: Eight different Golden Knights found the back of the net against LIU. Rajmund Farsang (Eger, Hungary/Neumann Janos Gimnazium), Nathaniel Castellon (Eastvale, Cal./Eleanor Roosevelt), Petar Markovic (Belgrade, Serbia/Sports High School of Belgrade), Nikiforos Liantziris (Athens, Greece/1o EPAL Zografou) and Victor Volant (Fuveau, France/Font d'Aurumy) scored two goals apiece, while Mateja Zjacic (Belgrade, Serbia/High School of Electrical Engineering "Nikola Tesla"), Michael McGarry (Erie, Pa./McDowell) and Dillon Shaw (Salt Lake City, Utah/Skyline) each added one goal to account for Gannon's 13 goals.
• Back-and-Forth Start: Markovic opened the scoring to give Gannon a 1-0 advantage before Farsang put the Golden Knights back in front at 2-1. LIU answered with the final two goals of the opening quarter to take a 3-2 lead.
• Even at the Break: Gannon outscored LIU 4-3 in the second quarter. Markovic and Farsang each scored their second goals before McGarry pulled the Golden Knights within 6-5. Zjacic then converted on the power play to send the teams into halftime tied at 6-6.
• Trading Goals: Volant opened the second half with a goal that put Gannon back in front, 7-6. LIU responded with two straight before Liantziris tied the game at 8-8. After another LIU goal, Shaw converted on the power play to make it 9-9. LIU scored the final goal of the third quarter to carry a 10-9 advantage into the fourth.
• Fourth-Quarter Battle: Liantziris quickly pulled Gannon even at 10-10 before Castellon converted on the power play to give the Golden Knights an 11-10 lead. After LIU tied the game, Castellon struck again to put Gannon back in front, 12-11.
• Late LIU Run: LIU responded to Gannon's final lead with three consecutive goals, turning a 12-11 deficit into a 14-12 advantage. Volant answered with his second goal to bring the Golden Knights within one at 14-13, but Gannon was unable to complete the comeback.

Up Next
Gannon returns to action on Sunday, August 30, for two more contests at the Bruno Classic. The Golden Knights face Iona at 10:20 a.m. before closing the weekend against host No. 20 Brown at 2:20 p.m.

This story was written using the support of AI.