BALTIMORE, MD – The Johns Hopkins water polo team wrapped up the MAWPC Crossover with a 19-8 win over host Mercyhurst for the Blue Jays' second straight win.
The Lakers jumped out to a two-goal lead but an
Emerson Sullivan score at the 3:03-mark sparked a seven-goal Blue Jay run as they stormed out to a 7-2 lead. Merychurst ended the run with a goal at 5:51 in the second, but Hopkins erupted for nine unanswered goals as its lead swelled to 16-3 by the 6:08-mark of the second. Eight different players scored during the run, which spanned less than seven and a half minutes.
The Lakers finally got back on the board with back-to-back goals midway through the third to make it a 16-5 game. Freshmen
Jason Mihalopoulos and
Daniel Palfi combined for three goals in the final three minutes to extend JHU's lead to 19-5. The Lakers would tack on three goals in the final quarter to account for the 19-8 final.
Hopkins will travel to California this week for the annual Gary Troyer Memorial Tournament. JHU will face Whittier and Cal Lutheran on Friday, September 30.
Inside the Box (Mercyhurst):
Goals: Sullivan-5, Raley-3, Freese-3, Mihalopoulos-2, Palfi-2, Soares-2, Eslami-1, Gensbigler-1
Assists: Soares-5, Steffey-2, Mihalopoulos-2, Brooke-2, Burns-1, Eslami-1, Palfi-1, Lo-1
Saves: Pearson-12, Eslami-5
Notes: Sullivan posted his 12
th career game with five or more goals • Soares matched his career-high with five assists • He now has 26 assists on the season, which already ranks tied for sixth for assists by a freshman in JHU history.
