By: Peter Borkowski
BALTIMORE - On Sunday, Augustana College men's water polo (7-10, 3-1) closed out the MPSF Weekend I with conference matches against Washington & Jefferson College (0-10, 0-3) and Penn State Behrend (5-7, 1-1). After a nine-goal win over Washington & Jefferson, Augie and Behrend engaged in a back-and-forth contest that Augie eventually dropped 18-16.
GAME ONE - Augie 19-10 W&J
Inside the Box Score
How it Happened
Augie struck first at 6:40 courtesy of a James Davis goal. After a lengthy period without any scoring, Lomax and Rashed tallied goals in the back half of the first to give Augustana a 3-0 lead. After another Augustana score opened the second quarter, Washington & Jefferson finally got on the board at 5:04 to set the score at 4-1. Lomax scored again to briefly extend the Viking advantage, but back-to-back Washington & Jefferson goals closed the gap to two goal by 2:45. With 33 seconds left in the half, Luke Burger grabbed a goal to up Augie's lead to 6-3.
Two Viking scores in the first two minutes of the third kept enlarging their lead. The teams then alternated scores until 0:58 when Augie scored consecutive goals to close out the third in front 12-6. While both teams scored in the first 32 seconds of the final frame, three Augie scores in the next two minutes gave them a commanding 16-7 lead. Two Washington & Jefferson goals made the score a little closer, but Augie responded with a pair of their own scores to close the door on any late comeback. Both teams added one more goal in the final 1:18 to finalize Augie's win at 19-10.
GAME TWO - PSB 18-16 Augie
Inside the Box Score
Ian Palmroos led Augie in scoring with three goals.
Davis was the main distributor for Augustana with three assists.
Lomax and Burger had a pair of steals each.
How it Happened
While Behrend jumped out to a 3-1 lead by the 3:02 mark of the first, back-to-back Augie scores at 2:35 and 1:35 tied the match up. Behrend responded quickly however with another two goals, but Mason Landes scored with just one second on the clock to set the score at 5-4 heading into the second period.
Augie needed just 22 seconds in the second period to tie the game again. Less than 30 seconds after scoring the tying goal, Ramic scored a second to put Augie in front. That lead lasted just 90 seconds before Behrend found an equalizing goal. After 2:13 of no scoring, Behrend struck again to pull back ahead of the Vikings. That lead briefly turned into a two-goal lead at 2:12, but two straight Augie goals forced another tie at 8-8. The last goal of the quarter belonged to Behrend however as they took a 9-8 lead into halftime.
Landes added another goal to his total 1:08 into the third to knot the match up again before Rashed scored at 5:57 to give the Vikings another lead. This time, Behrend responded with three straight goals to take a 12-10 lead. Augie had their own three-goal spree ready to go however and took a 13-12 lead in the closing seconds of the third.
Both squads added a score to their total in the first two minutes of the final frame, but three Behrend goals between 5:19 and 3:52 put them in front by a pair of goals. Augustana was able to end that run with a goal of their own, but another two Behrend goals made it 18-15 with 1:23 to play. Davis was able to add one more goal for the Vikings, but it was too little too late as the Vikings ultimately fell 18-16.
Up Next
The Vikings finally return home for the first time since their season opener when they host the MPSF Weekend II on November 6, 7, and 8. Augie's first match of that weekend will be on November 6 against Johns Hopkins at 6 p.m.
Follow the Vikings
Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Augustana men's water polo by following the team on Twitter at @augieathletics, on Facebook at Augustana Vikings Athletics, and on Instagram at @augiewaterpolo.
