Men's Water Polo | 9/4/2022 10:33:00 PM

THE BASICS:
 
- Scores:
No. 13 Cal Baptist - 19, MIT - 8
MIT  9, Austin College - 4
Air Force - 19, MIT - 14

- Records: MIT (1-4), Cal Baptist (3-2), Austin (1-4), Air Force (4-2)
 
- Location: Cambridge, Mass.
 
- The Lead: The MIT water polo team grabbed its first win of the season with a victory over Austin College to conclude the Bruno Invitational at Harvard. The Engineers played three games on Sunday posting a 1-2 record with two tough losses against No. 13 Cal Baptist and Division I Air Force.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED – GAME ONE vs. Cal Baptist:
- The Lancers jumped out to a 4-1 lead after one quarter of action. Junior Evan Kowal (South Pasadena, Calif.) got the Engineers on the board with 1:14 remaining but Cal Baptist scored with three seconds remaining to take a three-goal lead into the second.
 
- The second quarter was more evenly matched with each team scoring three times in the eight-minute quarter. First-year Luke Apostolides (Greenwich, Conn.) and Kowal scored for the Engineers and a goal from first-year Adam Ivatorov (Rockaway, NY) got MIT to within one goal at 5-4. The Lancers responded with two goals in the final 38 seconds, including one with four seconds remaining to take a 7-4 lead.
 
- Cal Baptist put the game out of reach as they outscored the Engineers 8-1 in the third quarter.
 
- Senior Miller Geschke (Los Altos, Calif.) opened the fourth with a goal at 6:13 to halt a 4-0 Lancers run. Kowal added two more scores in the frame for the Engineers.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Kowal led the way with four goals followed by Geschke with two.

HOW IT HAPPENED – GAME TWO vs. Austin:
- The Engineers started fast in the first quarter, taking a 5-0 lead after the first quarter highlighted by two goals each from Kowal and Ivatorov.
 
- MIT continued to take control of the game with two more goals in the second as Ivatorov scored his third of the contest and first-year Vik Neni (Laguna Beach, Calif.) got his first score of the contest to make it a 7-0 lead.
 
- Austin started a comeback in the third as they outscored the Engineers 3-1 to pull to within five. The 'Roos cut it to four with a goal in the fourth, but Geschke got his second goal of the match to give the Engineers their first win of the year with a 9-4 win.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Ivatorov scored four of the nine goals for MIT while Kowal and Geschke each scored twice.
 
- Junior Colin Weaver (Huntington Beach, Calif.) made 17 saves in goal and added three steals and an assist.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED – GAME THREE vs. Air Force:
 - The Falcons doubled up the Engineers in the first half, taking a 6-3 advantage into the second quarter.
 
- MIT found its groove offensively, outscoring the Falcons 6-4 to make it a one-score game heading into the half. Geschke and Apostolides each scored twice as Apostolides' goal with 1:49 remaining made it a 10-9 contest.
 
- Air Force pulled away in the third with six goals with two in the quarters' final 42 seconds. Neni scored with one second left in the third to make it 16-12 heading into the last eight minutes of play.
 
- The Engineers looked to make a fourth-quarter comeback, but the Falcons held off MIT for the 19-14 win.  

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Ivatorov led the way with four goals while Apostolides and Geschke each recorded a hat trick. Geschke also added three assists and Apostolides had six steals. Yun also added two scores and six steals in the contest.
 
- Weaver made nine saves in goal and registered three assists and a steal.

UP NEXT:
- MIT returns to the pool on Saturday, September for two matches against LIU Brooklyn and Brown. The Engineers will play LIU at 3 pm before heading to Brown for a 6:30 contest.
 
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