Courtesy: Mount St. Mary’s Athletics
EMMITSBURG, Md. (September 19, 2021) – Mount St. Mary’s built a winning streak for the first time this year, coupling last night’s triumph over Mercyhurst with a Sunday morning win over Salem. The water polo squad fell in the afternoon contest to Fordham, taking two of four at this weekend’s Bucknell Invitational.
In the morning contest with the Tigers, both sides played even through the first half. Kiahi Horan broke a 3-3 tie with a goal at the end of the first quarter. After Salem rallied for a 6-5 lead, Jason O’Donnell drew a penalty and converted the shot to draw level at halftime.
The game stayed close until the Mount pulled away at a steady pace late. Eli Thalos led the charge with four scores, and the defense limited the Tigers to one goal in the final eight minutes. At final horn, Mount St. Mary’s had sealed a 12-10 victory.
The afternoon game presented a tough challenge as they face the talented Fordham Rams. Thalos continued his scoring torrent with another hat trick and O’Donnell registered a multi-goal game, but Fordham struck for 14 first half goals. The Mountaineers polished off two goals per quarter in the 21-8 defeat. For the season, the Mount stands at 4-7.
Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference play begins Saturday (Sept. 25) when the team travels to George Washington and Johns Hopkins.
Mount St. Mary’s 12, Salem 10
Team
Mount St. Mary’s 4 2 4 2
Salem
Mount St. Mary’s Goals: Thalos 4, Horan 3, Wallace-Whitfield 2, O’Donnell 1, Fischer 1, Cieplik 1
Fordham 21, Mount St. Mary’s 8
Team
Mount St. Mary’s 2 2 2 2
Fordham
Mount St. Mary’s Goals: Thalos 3, O’Donnell 2, Hopkins 1, Horan 1, Fitch 1