PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The Augustana Vikings men's water polo team dropped a pair of games to NCAA Division I foes on Saturday on day one of the Bruno Classic, falling to the host Brown Bears by a score of 17-7 before being defeated by nationally-ranked Fordham by a final of 24-8.
In game one, Brown jumped out to an early lead after securing the game's first five goals in the first quarter. The Vikings earned their lone tally of the opening period on a goal from
Oskar Bannister, but it was quickly canceled out by Brown as the home team held a five-point advantage after eight minutes of action.
The second quarter played to an even 3-3 tie to keep the five-point differential intact heading into halftime. Augie saw back-to-back tallies from
Joseph Addison and
Mark Addison to bring the team back within five after the Bears netted two to begin the frame. J. Addison accounted for the final score of the half for the Vikings with just 10 seconds remaining before the break.
Brown pulled away in the third quarter after posting a 5-1 advantage through the first eight minutes of the second half.
Stevan Rasic notched his first goal of the early season in the third before Bannister grabbed two more in the fourth to round out the scoring for the Vikings. Brown added three in the final frame to complete the 17-7 win.
Bannister led the way with three goals on four shots, while
Zander O'Dwyer contributed two assists.
Declan Hutton finished with 11 saves in net.
In game two, the first and second quarter posted identical margins as the Rams of Fordham used two 7-2 periods to take a 14-4 lead into halftime. The Vikings continued the theme of two-goal quarters the rest of the way, but could not slow down the Rams as a 10-4 advantage in the second half resulted in the 24-8 win.
Colin McDowell and Bannister each had two-goal outings for Augie, while
Rhys Lomax,
Ian Palmroos, and
Ryan DeLand all secured their first career goals with the team.
Ian Root and
Henry Sothern combined for eight saves in net.
The Vikings will continue their stay at the Bruno Classic tomorrow with two games in Norton, Mass. Augie will face Mount St. Mary's at 7 a.m. CDT before taking on Mercyhurst at 11:30 a.m. CDT.
