LEWISBURG, PA – The Johns Hopkins water polo team lost to host Bucknell, 15-7, but rebounded with a 14-7 win over Mercyhurst at the Bucknell Invitational Saturday.
Graduate student
Emerson Sullivan tied the game at one early in the opening quarter, but the Bison answered with three straight goals to take a 4-1 lead at the break. Junior
Cameron Burns opened the second-quarter scoring just 30 seconds in and freshman
Quint Steffey followed with a goal at 4:59 to pull the Blue Jays within one.
Bucknell responded with another three-goal run to push out to a 7-3 lead but a Steffey goal in the final minute made it a 7-4 game at the half. The Bison opened the third with back-to-back goals to push out to a 9-4 lead. Junior
Liam Housenbold got one back for the Blue Jays, but Bucknell had the final say of the quarter to go up 10-5. The Bison scored the first three goals of the fourth quarter to extend their lead to 13-5 with 4:08 to play. Junior
Paul Gensbigler ended the run with a goal at 2:59 for the Blue Jays. Bucknell then sandwiched a pair of goals around one from Sullivan in the final two minutes to account for the 15-7 final.
Mercyhurst grabbed a quick two-goal lead in the game's opening 76 seconds. Steffey got Hopkins on the board at 4:02 and sparked a three-goal run as the Blue Jays took a 3-2 lead into the break. Freshman
Gavin Brooke and senior
Kami Eslami continued the run with back-to-back goals and the Jays led 5-2. The Lakers answered with a two-goal run of their own to pull within one, but a Brooke goal at the 2:47-mark sent Hopkins into the half with a 6-4 lead.
The Lakers pulled back within one midway through the third, but the Jays answered with goals from freshman
Jason Mihalopoulos and Sullivan to go up 8-5. The teams traded scores in the final 46 seconds of the quarter and Hopkins led 9-6. Mihalopoulos opened the fourth-quarter scoring and ignited a four-goal run as the Blue Jays pushed out to a 13-6 lead with 3:07 to play. Mercyhurst ended the run at the 2:30-mark, but Sullivan would have the final say of the game, scoring with 48 ticks on the clock to make it a 14-7 game.
Hopkins returns to action on Saturday, September 24 at the Mercyhurst Invitational. JHU will take on Gannon (11:40 am), Salem (3:40 pm) and McKendree (7:40 pm).
Inside the Box (Bucknell):
Goals: Sullivan-2, Steffey-2, Burns-1, Gensbigler-1, Housenbold-1
Assists: Sullivan-2, Eslami-1, Raley-1, Brooke-1
Saves: Pearson-11
Inside the Box (Mercyhurst):
Goals: Sullivan-5, Mihalopoulos-2, Steffey-1, Eslami-1, Raley-1, Freese-1, Brooke-1, Soares-1, Lo-1
Assists: Steffey-2, Brooke-2, Lo-2, Sullivan-1, Gensbigler-1, Freese-1, Mihalopoulos-1, Housenbold-1
Saves: Pearson-12
Notes: Sullivan moved into 17
th place in program history with 221 career points • He is also now tied for 15
th with 175 career goals.
