Last Friday night was the highlight of the season for the Jays men’s water polo team. In their last home game of the year, the Jays defeated the 18th ranked George Washington University Colonials in what turned out to be a riveting contest. The Jays ended the Colonials five-game league winning streak with a 15-10 win at the Newton White Athletic Center, handing the Colonials their second loss in the Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPS) this season.
The Jays’ pulled off the upset after the contest remained tight through the first half. At the end of the first quarter, the Jays led the Colonials 3-2 after freshman attacker Finn Banks scored with 54 seconds left on the clock.
The goal opened a four-goal run by the Jays to open the second quarter. Senior utility Matt Fraser would score the next two goals for the Jays and sophomore utility Giorgio Cico capped off the run, putting the Jays ahead 6-3.
The Colonials answered with three straight goals of their own to tie the game 6-6 with just three minutes left in the half. However, Cico and his fellow sophomore utility Josh Kurtz scored back-to-back goals to give the Jays an 8-6 lead, which they would not relinquish.
The win against the 18th ranked Colonials capped off a commendable four-year career for the three seniors on the team, who combined for seven goals and three assists in their final home game. Matt Fraser led the Jays with five points, six goals, four steals and three ejections drawn. With 261 career points he ranks 11th in school history.
Senior Giovanni Cragnotti added three points against the Colonials with one goal and two assists and Bret Pinsker contributed a goal of his own.
After defeating the Colonials, the Jays squared off against the Navy Midshipmen in another close Conference matchup on Saturday. Unfortunately, the Jays could not recover quickly enough from the tough fought battle with George Washington University to grab their second consecutive win. Hopkins fell dramatically to their Conference rival after previously defeating the Midshipmen 14-8 in their first Conference game of the season.
The Jays traveled to Annapolis where they encountered a Navy team determined to avenge their prior loss. The Midshipmen dominated from the start, leading the Jays 5-2 in the first quarter. However, the Jays fought back and tied the game in the second quarter thanks to consecutive Hopkins goals by sophomores Andreas Katsis and Giorgio Cico. The Jays continued to put up points and led the Midshipmen 8-7 heading into the half.
Tension mounted as the score remained tied 9-9 for the majority of the third quarter. Senior Matt Fraser ended the third with a goal to put Hopkins ahead 10-9.
The Jays, however, did not have the stamina to hold off the Midshipmen, who came out firing in the fourth. With back to back goals in the first 29 seconds of the quarter, Navy went up 11-10. In the final minutes, the score remained tied at 13 after two Hopkins goals by Cragnotti and Kurtz. It was the Midshipmen who would have the final say, scoring the last goal of the game to put Navy up 14-13.
Along with his goal in the final quarter, Kurtz handed out two assists, now ranking 12th in university history with 64 career assists. Kurtz commented on the loss and what it means for the team moving toward the postseason.
“We were able to secure a spot in the postseason tournament,” said Kurtz. “Although we are upset we lost a game to Navy, we played well as a team and are happy with where we stand for postseason play.”
After the loss to Navy on Saturday, the Jays faced their final matchup of the weekend on Sunday at Bucknell University Bison. The 13th-ranked Bison took down the Jays in the last game of the regular season 17-10.
Kurtz carried his success from the game against Navy into the pool on Sunday, scoring both of the Jays’ first two goals and keeping Hopkins in a fighting position. The sophomore ended the regular season with 99 career points, just shy of the 100-point milestone. He commented on the areas which the Jays will look to improve for next season.
“We lost a few games this season in the fourth quarter so we want to make sure we lift and condition a lot and stay in shape for next year,” Kurtz said.
Despite the rough loss, the Jays closed out the regular season finishing third in the inaugural season of the Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference and securing a spot in the 2016 Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference Championship. While the Jays’ finished the regular season with a losing record of 4-6 in the conference, they are optimistic about the 2017 season.
“If all goes well, we would start next year right off where we finished this year,” Kurtz said. “We are a young team with a great group of guys that have good chemistry that we hope to maintain moving forward.”
The Blue Jays will compete in their final tournament the weekend of Nov. 18 to end their 2016 campaign. Hopkins will return to Lewisburg, Pa, home of the Bison, to compete in the MAWPC Championship.
