ROCK ISLAND, Ill. —  The Augustana Vikings men's water polo team continued its strong fall slate with a pair of dominant performances on Saturday, earning wins over Austin, Mercyhurst, and Wheaton (Mass.) by scores of 19-12, 19-15, and 33-8, respectively.

In game one, the Vikings weathered early adversity after two quick exclusions and an Austin goal. Ian Palmroos got Augustana on the board midway through the first, knotting the game 1–1 before Rhys Lomax converted a penalty drawn by Uros Ramic to put the Vikings in front 2-1. After an Austin answer, Ben Symington added a power-play strike late in the frame, capitalizing on a foul drawn by Cole Faux to help Augie close the quarter ahead 3–2. On the defensive end, goalkeeper Declan Hutton registered multiple key saves while James Davis and Mason Landes tallied steals to help hold off Austin's attack.
 
Augustana carried that energy into the second quarter, scoring three straight to extend its lead. Lomax and Palmroos each found the back of the net early with assists from Tyler Leslie and Ramic, before Austin pulled one back to make it 5–3. The Vikings quickly answered, as Lomax completed his second goal of the period off a feed from Oskar Bannister. Austin would find the net with 3:58 to go, but Mark Addison and Faux each capitalized on power-play opportunities to stretch the advantage to 8–4. After Austin converted a man-up late, Ramic buried a transition goal to restore momentum before Austin scored once more in the closing seconds to make it 9–6 at the break.
 
After taking a 9–6 lead into halftime, the Vikings faced renewed pressure from the Roos in the third quarter. Austin trimmed the deficit to one behind a pair of early goals, but Rhys Lomax earned a penalty and later finished his third goal of the game to restore momentum. Addison converted a feed from Alden Brinkmeier to keep Augie in front at 11-9. Following an Austin rally that tied the match at 11–11 in the closing minute, Hutton delivered the play of the day, launching a shot that skipped past the keeper as time expired, giving the Vikings a 12–11 lead entering the final quarter.
 
The fourth frame belonged entirely to Augustana. Davis sparked the surge with a goal off an assist from Ian Palmroos, before Oskar Bannister buried a man-up strike from Ben Symington to extend the lead. Bannister stayed involved, assisting Davis to make the score 15-11. Palmroos buried one off a Stevan Rasic assist, before completing a 6-on-5 conversion. Symington added a late power-play goal, and Bannister converted his own steal to punctuate the offensive outburst. Hutton remained sharp in net, tallying several more saves and a steal to anchor a defense that held Austin to just one goal in the final frame. The Vikings take the match 19-12.
 
Lomax, Palmroos, and Davis each netted four goals to lead the balanced attack, while Bannister tallied two goals and three assists. Symington added a pair of goals, and Addison, Faux, and Hutton each chipped in scores to round out the offense. Hutton anchored the defense with 12 saves and one steal. Brinkmeier and Leslie each dished out multiple assists, while Davis paced the defense with four steals. The Vikings forced 12 turnovers overall and held Austin to just one goal in the final quarter to secure the win.

In game two, the Vikings would build a 3-1 lead over Mercyhurst behind two Davis goals and a strike from Bannister. Mercyhurst would respond with three goals and flip the game 4-3. Addison would find back-to-back goals, with the first being by way of powerplay, making the score 5-4 at the end of the first.

Lomax would add to the lead to make it 6-4 with 7:27 to go in the second. From there the Vikings and Lakers would trade goals before Mercyhurst would take the lead 8-7. Leslie would tie it back up at eight apiece, after a Lakers goal and with 12 seconds to go in the second, Rasic would get his first of the match to re-tie it up at 9-9.

Augustana would show their ability to capitalize in the third, with 2:24 left to play the Vikings would bury their third goal of the period versus the Mercyhurst's none. Davis, Bannister, and Palmroos were the scorers in that run. After a response with 1:55 to play, the Vikings would close the period with another 3-0 run from Rasic and Addison, with the latter of the two scoring back-to-back making the score 15-10.

In the fourth, the Vikings would take their five point lead to 17-12 with goals by Palmroos and Wilson Smith. After the gap closed to 18-14, Augie would bury their final goal of the match by way of Bannister who turned in at three goal performance.  Addison would finish with five goals, Rasic with four, Davis and Palmroos each added three of their own, and Lomax added two. Leslie and Smith each would finish with one goal to help the Vikings take the 19-15 win. 

In game three, the Vikings wasted no time setting the tone versus Wheaton in their third match of the day. Lomax opened the scoring on a feed from Palmroos, and Davis quickly followed with a man-up strike to make it 2–0. Moments later, Lomax picked off a pass and converted on the counter to extend the margin before Wheaton responded. Rasic responded quickly and buried one off a Davis assist to make it 4–2. Mason Landes capped the quarter with a goal assisted by Bannister, helping Augustana take a 5–2 lead after one.
 
The Vikings broke the game wide open in the second quarter, as Bence Kovacs-Siklosi converted a penalty to start the surge, and Brinkmeier, Palmroos, and Rasic each found the back of the net as the lead ballooned to 9–3. Rasic stayed hot, completing his first-half hat trick on another assist from Bannister, while Ronin Araucto and Faux each joined the scoring column off setups from Rasic and Leslie, respectively. Wheaton would respond with one goal before Trentin Lechleitner closed the half with a goal from Bannister, sending the Vikings into the break with a commanding 13–4 advantage.
 
Augustana's dominance continued after halftime as the offense erupted for 13 goals in the third quarter alone. Rasic opened the half with his fourth goal before Brinkmeier, Lomax, and Palmroos each tacked on tallies during a 5–1 Viking run. Following another 3-1 Vikings run, Faux caught fire, scoring four goals in the span of four minutes. This included two assisted by Lawson Soukup and Symington to stretch the lead to 23–6. Landes and Connor Logan each added late-quarter goals, the latter scoring off a Symington assist to make it 26–6 heading into the final frame.
 
The Vikings closed strong with another 7–2 burst in the fourth. Uros Ramic and Davis struck early before Palmroos converted on the counter for his fourth goal of the contest. Logan added another from Landes to push the margin past 20. Symington and Landes rounded out the scoring in the final two minutes as Augustana coasted to the 33–8 victory.

Augustana fired on all cylinders offensively, converting 33 of 55 shot attempts for a 60 percent clip while totaling 25 assists as a team. Faux led the Vikings with a team-high five goals on 62.5 percent shooting and added an assist, while Lomax contributed three goals and three assists. Rasic and Brinkmeier each scored three times and combined for five assists, and Palmroos, Davis, and Landes all tallied multi-goal performances. Bannister and Leslie directed the offense with three assists apiece, and Lechleitner notched a goal and two helpers off the bench. Defensively, Soukup anchored the cage with nine saves and eight goals allowed, while Symington and Logan each recorded a pair of steals. The Vikings finished 2-for-3 on power-play opportunities and forced 20 total turnovers in the commanding 33–8 victory.

The Vikings will be back in action for day two of the MPSF Weekend tomorrow at 10 a.m. CT.