Box Score Box Score

The Basics
• Score: #7 MIT-15, #5 Johns Hopkins-12
• Records: JHU (6-10) • MIT (8-9)
• Location: Baltimore, MD • Newton White Aquatic Center
• The Short Story: Second-seed MIT toppled host and top-seed Johns Hopkins, 15-12, in the CWPA Division III Championship game Sunday afternoon.
 
How it Happened
• Junior Finn Banks put the Blue Jays on top early when he scored just 23 seconds in. The Engineers answered however with back-to-back goals by Clyde Huibregtse. Sophomore Nico Ivanov tied the game at 2-all with 4:10 to play in the quarter, but MIT again answered with a pair of goals to go up 4-2. Banks and senior Giorgio Cico responded with a pair for the Blue Jays to knot the score at four with 1:09 remaining in the quarter. Evan Kim had the final say of the quarter however, putting the Engineers back on top, 5-4, after one.
• Kyle Sandell pushed the visitors lead back to two with the opening goal of the second quarter. Cico and senior Josh Kurtz once again pulled Hopkins even, scoring back-to-back goals just 36 seconds apart. The teams then traded goals and it was 7-7 with 1:58 left in the second. Kevin Downey and Miller Geschke responded with two goals for MIT in a span of 35 seconds and the lead was once again two. Cico cut it in half with his third of the game with just 35 ticks remaining and that's how the teams went into the half.
• Kurtz struck first in the third, tying the game at nine, and the teams would swap scores over the rest of the period. MIT would take a 12-11 lead into the fourth            quarter.
• Ward Weldon scored consecutive goals to open the final stanza to stake MIT to a 14-11 lead at the 3:24-mark. Pat Stefano pushed the lead to four less than a minute later to cap a three-goal Engineers' spurt. Freshman Emerson Sullivan scored with 1:52 to play to cut the deficit to three, but that's as close as the Blue Jays could get.
 
What it Means
• Hopkins falls to 29-11 all-time against MIT, including 17-7 in the CWPA Division III Championship.
• The Blue Jays lose in the title game for the first time since 2014 and just the ninth time in the 26 appearances.
 
Inside the Box Score
• Kurtz led the Blue Jays with a game-high four goals while also handing out an assist. Cico added a hat trick and dished a game-best four helpers. Banks also finished with a pair of goals.
• Senior Spencer Witte made 12 saves and had one steal in the loss.
• Sullivan was named the Rookie of the Tournament and is the third Blue Jay to earn the honor in the last four years. Cico and Banks were named to the All-Tournament First Team while Kurtz was named to the second team.
• Banks now has 193 career points, leaving him just seven points shy of becoming the 18^th player in program history to notch 200 points. He would be the third active Blue Jay (Cico, Kurtz) to reach the milestone.
 
Up Next
• Hopkins returns to action on Friday, October 26 as the Blue Jays travel to Philadelphia to take on La Salle. The Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference game is scheduled for a 7:00 pm start.