REDLANDS, Calif. – The third-seeded MIT water polo team fell to fourth-seed Augustana, 9-7 in the USA Water Polo DIII Collegiate National Championship Third-Place match on Sunday morning.

THE BASICS:

• Score: Augustana 9, MIT 7
• Records: MIT (9-18 Overall), Augustana (16-7 Overall) 

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Sophomore Rick Lundh (Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.) opened the scoring with a penalty shot goal at 7:15. The teams went the next few minutes without a score before junior Mark Addison (Eads, Tenn.) got Augustana on the board at 4:32. Sophomores William Ewald (Greenwich, Conn.) and Andras Beleznay (Delray Beach, Fla.) put the Engineers up two goals, but Augustana scored with four seconds remaining in the quarter to make it a 3-2 game.
• The Vikings scored three-straight to build a 5-3 lead before junior Adam Ivatorov (Rockaway, N.Y.) stopped the Augustana run and got MIT back to within one. MIT got goals from sophomores Kunal Rajadhyax (Vernon Hills, Ill.) and Kieran Kearns (Palos Verdes Estates, Calif.) to tie the game at six at 5:16 in the third.
• Augie had another two-goal run to build an 8-6 lead, but Rajadhyax brought MIT back to one with his goal with 5:52 left in the match.
• The Engineers had chances late in the match to tie, but Augustana held firm for the 9-7 win.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• Rajadhyax led MIT with two goals in the game. Ivatorov's goal puts his final total at 96 which is the second most in a season in team history.
• Ewald led the team with three steals while Kearns and first year Derek Schaffer (Redondo Beach, Calif.) dished out a team-leading two assists. Kearns finishes the year with a program-record 70 assists.
• First year Armaan Gill (Long Grove, Ill.) made five saves with one assist and two steals. 

STAY CONNECTED:

• For the latest on MIT Athletics, follow the Engineers on Facebook, Instagram, X, and YouTube.