EMMITSBURG, MD – The Johns Hopkins water polo team scored three goals in 75 seconds late in the fourth quarter to rally for a 12-11 win over Mount St. Mary's in MAWPC action Sunday.
 
Trailing 11-9 with 2:06 to play, Hopkins earned a five-meter and junior Ian Raley buried the shot to pull the Blue Jays within one. Just 34 seconds later, it was freshman Max Blecher cashing in on a five-meter to tie the game at 11 with 1:32 to play. Blecher then scored on a six-on-five with 51 ticks on the clock to put Hopkins on top. The defense then stood tall as the Blue Jays closed out the win.
 
Hopkins jumped out to a 3-0 lead with goals from Blecher, freshman Owen Bartlett and sophomore Gavin Brooke in the game's opening six minutes. Zach Fischer then scored back-to-back goals to pull the Mount within one late in the quarter. Bartlett scored with nine seconds left in the period, followed by a goal just 66 seconds into the second and JHU led 5-2.
 
Blecher pushed the lead to four with 4:59 on a six-on-five goal. Gunner Lanquist scored to just 14 seconds later to spark a five-goal run as the Mount grabbed 7-6 lead at 6:49 in the third. Bartlett and Raley halted the run with back-to-back goals and the Jays led 8-7 with 2:59 on the clock. Alexandros Belesis answered for Mount St. Mary's to tie the game at the end of three.
 
Ayden Hess put the Mount on top with a man-up goal just 31 seconds into the fourth, but Bartlett responded 30 seconds later and it was 9-9. Belesis put the home team back on top with a five-meter goal, followed by a man-up goal from Nate Valentine and it was a two-goal game with 4:36 to play. That set up the thrilling three-goal comeback by the Blue Jays in the final 2:06.
 
Bartlett led Hopkins with five goals, while Blecher scored a career-high four goals, including the game-winner.
 
Hopkins will travel to MIT for the CWPA Division III Championship October 21-22.