The Jays water polo team took a 17-8 record into the CWPA Southern Championship this weekend in Annapolis, but they were up against some tough competition with their first game against Navy (who defeated Hopkins 12-8 earlier this season, but lost in Baltimore).
Hopkins has struggled on the road, having a 7-1 home record, compared to a 2-4 away. Senior Thomas de Lyon says that the team has learned to play with their pool to an advantage that they do not have on the road.
“Our home pool is shallow on both ends, while a typical water polo pool is very deep. The difference between our pool and other pools leads to basically two separate sports. It's a whole different game, and we've gotten very good at utilizing our pool to our own advantage.”
Hopkins started off the day against Navy with a tight first quarter, but Navy began the second quarter with four straight goals, digging Hopkins into a 6-1 deficit. Sophomore Langdom Froomer stopped that streak, scoring with just 38 seconds left in the half for Hopkins’ first goal of the period.
Hopkins changed things around in the second half as Stephen Kingery and Froomer both scored to cut the deficit to two. Hopkins continued to pressure Navy, but despite senior Wes Hopkins and Froomer scoring back-to-back goals with 45 seconds left to help the Blue Jays outscore Navy 7-5 in the second half, they could not complete the comeback as Navy pulled off an 11-9 victory.
Froomer had his third hat trick of the year to go along with two assists. Junior Wes Hopkins had two goals to add to his team-leading total of 56 on the season, and junior Johnny Beal added both a goal and an assist.
The second game of the day was very different as the Jays got off to a great start, outscoring Gannon 6-2 in the first half. Froomer added another goal to his total for the night and sophomore Kevin Yee had one in each of the first two quarters.
Hopkins seemed to have control of the game at the half, but Gannon came out a different team in the third quarter, scoring seven consecutive goals and shutting out Hopkins. Beal admitted that “we came out strong, then thought the game was over and let down in the third quarter.”
The team knew they still had a shot and came together to discuss how to turn the game around. “We talked about how losing that game could potentially mean the end of our season and that we were one good quarter away from making it to the (CWPA Championship) tournament in Providence,” said Wes Hopkins.
This seemed to work for the Jays as they outscored Gannon 8-2 in the fourth quarter for a 14 to 11 win. With just 4:15 to go, Beal tied the game and was followed by de Lyon who put the team ahead. De Lyon scored three goals in the third quarter for a total of five on the game. He now has 52 goals on the season. As a senior de Lyon has shown his leadership role many times this season, but this was especially apparent against Gannon.
“I definitely put in some extra effort to try and cause a momentum swing in our favor,” said de Lyon. “But overall, our team has a lot of talented players and I was more focused on being a team leader that could get the team motivated.”
Beal also had two goals in the fourth quarter to give him a hat trick.
By defeating Gannon, Hopkins faced George Washington on Sunday for 5th place in the tournament. GW had beaten the Jays earlier this season, but the Jays did not let this get to their heads.
The two teams traded goals in the first few minutes until Hopkins exploded for six straight goals to give them a 7-2 lead after the first half. Wes Hopkins tied the game at two with just 2:14 left in the first quarter and Kevin Lee gave them the lead.
Hopkins had shut out GW since the first quarter until the 6:14 mark in the third when GW scored four straight goals to cut Hopkins’ lead to two. Hopkins was able to hold on in the last quarter though to defeat GW 9-7.
Wes Hopkins and freshman Matt Fraser each had two goals and sophomore Erik Henrikson, who was named defensive player of the week last month, made 11 saves and two steals to earn the win.
With the victory Hopkins will go to Providence, RI, to play in the CWPA Championship. The Jays will be up against some tough competition, but the team is very confident in themselves. When asked what the team’s goal was at the championship, de Lyon said “Our coaches have made it very clear that our goal is to be in the championship game in Providence. Whether or not this happens, I'll be happy as long as our team gives 100% effort, and we show how good we can be.”
