Water polo secures late victory in D.C.

The Hopkins men’s water polo team won in sensational fashion this past weekend as they beat the George Washington Colonials 15-13 in CWPA Southern Division competitive play.

The Jays travelled to the nation’s capital on Oct. 11 seeking a win that would improve their record from 6-6 overall and 2-2 in league play. While the Colonials were in a bit of a form slump, they too looked primed to improve their winless league record from 0-4 and overall record from 8-8, and their home pool would be the best place to do it.

The evening game started right after 7 p.m., and before most people were in their seats, the Colonials had a 2-1 advantage and were looking well on their way to claiming their first win in league play. The Hopkins men would not back down, and rebutted with a cascade of seven unanswered goals to take a commanding 8-2 lead by the end of the first period.

Junior Langdon Froomer led the charge as he scored his first of three that night to tie the game at 2-2. Classmate Garrett Davidson and sophomore Matt Frasier were not far behind, and followed suit by scoring three more goals between the two of them, with just 18 seconds between the first and the third; Davidson had the first two and Frasier complimented his two with a goal of his own.

Following the three-goal barrage, senior Johnny Beal added his name to the scoreboard with two back-to-back goals within a 22-second span that extended the Jays lead to 6-2. Davidson and Frasier then found the net again to round out the first period with the Jays up 8-2.

The George Washington Colonials would not submit though, and came into the second period firing. A combination of Colonial goals and the Jays blanking served to render the score 8-6 at halftime, with the Colonials having all the momentum heading into the break. The Colonials’ comeback was started by a five-meter goal from Ridvan Pehlivan. His Colonial teammates took note and followed up with a four-goal rout in just over two minutes of play. The scoring subsided and both teams were given a reprieve to enter halftime.

Pehlivan picked up right where he left off, as he scored to open the third quarter. His point brought the game to a mere one-goal margin. However, Froomer rescued the Jays and broke their scoring drought with a goal in the seventh minute mark to double the Hopkins lead.

However, the Colonials, having been within touching distance of a level score, refused to be denied and tied the game at 9-9 with 3:34 remaining until the fourth. Back-to-back goals from Colonials’ Brian Mojica and Bogdan Petkovic brought the Colonials back to level ground with the Jays for the first time since the opening whistle. Mojica capitalized on a power play to bring the Colonials back to within a point before Petkovic tied it up.

It was the Jays, though, who would have the last say in the quarter, as they ended the period up 11-9 on the back of goals from Froomer and Frasier. Froomer put in his third goal that night to give the Jays their lead before Frasier doubled that lead with his own third goal with seven seconds remaining in the period.

It was Pehlivan again, for the third time that night, who opened the scoring in the fourth. The goal was his second penalty marker and fourth overall goal. The Jays responded with a quick goal from Frasier, who was then followed by Petkovic scoring his third for the Colonials to complete a hat trick. The score read a 12-11 Jays advantage midway through the fourth.

The Jays quickly increased their lead to four goals, a lead that proved too much for the Colonials to overcome. Senior Wes Hopkins had two in a row hit the net before sophomore Gio Cragnotti added to the tally with one of his own. The Colonials added two goals later in the game but came up just short with the Jays proving victorious in the end.

“It was a huge win for us heading into the D-III eastern championships,” Froomer said. “They got a huge crowd and it was nice to go in there and quiet them.”

Frasier had a season-high four goals, Froomer had three of his own and junior Erik Henrikson had 11 saves and four steals. Hopkins returns to action this weekend at the CWPA D-III Championship, for which they hold the top seed.