STANFORD, CA – The Johns Hopkins water polo team knocked off Penn State Behrend, 25-8, in the MPSF East Semifinals at the league tournament at Stanford on Saturday morning. The Blue Jays improve to 21-6 on the year and move into the East Final on Sunday at 1 pm (PT) against the winner of the other semifinal between Augustana and Austin College.
 
After the Blue Jays and Lions split the first four goals in the first two minutes of the game, Johns Hopkins used an 11-goal run to close the first half and grab a 13-2 halftime lead.  Nine different Blue Jays would score during the spurt with Mason Hofmann and Daniel Palfi both scoring twice to help spark the run.
 
After allowing the two early goals, Blue Jay goalie Kyle Pearson and his defense kept the Lions off the board for final 14:09 of the first half.  Pearson posted nine first-half saves to anchor things in the cage for the Blue Jays.
 
The Lions would trim the halftime deficit to eight (13-5) with consecutive goals from Cadden Currykosky, Owen Kroh and Nick Thompson, but a Phillip Long goal ignited an eight-goal Blue Jay run that turned the 13-5 advantage into a 21-5 lead early in the fourth quarter.  Again, it was a balanced effort that fueled the run for Johns Hopkins as the eight goals came from eight different players.
 
Palfi (4 goals), Luke Mendelsohn (3), Hofmann (3) and Owen Bartlett (3) combined for 13 of Johns Hopkins' 25 goals in the victory with Mendelsohn adding a career-high five assists to fuel an eight-point day.  Pearson finished with 12 saves and allowed just six goals while adding one assist in the win.
 
Mendelsohn (55g, 41a) and Hofmann (65g, 30a) now rank second and third, respectively for most points by a Johns Hopkins freshman in school history; Giorgio Cico holds the record with 100 points in 2015.  In addition, Hoffman's 65 goals are just two shy of Andrew Lee's program freshman record of 67 (2024).
 
Pearson's 12 saves boost his career total to 898, which leaves him just five shy of breaking John Wilson's career record of 902 (2014-17).