CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The Division III No. 7 MIT water polo team erased a 7-0 deficit against Bucknell to earn a thrilling 14-13 triple-overtime victory to close out day one of the Bruno Classic at Harvard. The Engineers dropped an earlier contest to No. 3 Fordham 20-8.
THE BASICS:
- Scores:
- No. 3 Fordham 20, MIT 8
- MIT 14, Bucknell 13 (3OT)
- Records: MIT (1-1 Overall, 0-0 NWPC), Fordham (2-0, 0-0 MAWPC), Bucknell (0-2, 0-0 MAWPC)
HOW IT HAPPENED vs. FORDHAM:
- The Rams got on the board first with a score from Barnabas Eppel at 7:35. Adam Ivatorov pulled the Engineers even at the 5:06 mark. Andras Toth found the back of the net with 1:40 remaining in the first to give Fordham the one goal lead after the first quarter of action.
- A 5-0 run to open the second put the Rams up 7-1. MIT stopped the run at 3:41 with a score from Avi Narula, however, back-to-back Fordham goals in the span of 20 seconds made it a 9-2 contest. Caspar Lightner and Ivatorov found the back of the net for the Engineers in the quarter as the Rams took a six-goal lead into halftime.
- Fordham scored the first four goals of the third before a score from Kunal Rajadhyax cut the Rams' lead to 14-5.
- MIT got scores from Derek Schaffer, Ivatorov, and Ethan Kim to account for the 20-8 final score.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Ivatorov recorded a hat trick for MIT. Toth and Luca Provenziani led Fordham with four goals each.
- Rajadhyax led the Engineers with two assists with David Ranaudo leading the way with three steals.
- Armaan Gill made six stops in net while Joshua Woren made seven.
HOW IT HAPPENED vs. BUCKNELL:
- The Bison raced out to a 7-0 lead, but MIT responded with a 4-0 run to pull to within three with one quarter left to play.
- Bucknell built up a five-goal advantage with a score from Jack Murad made it 10-5. Lightner kick-started the Engineers comeback with a goal at 5:26, and Ivatorov tied the match with 13 seconds left to send the teams to overtime.
- Schaffer got the scoring started for MIT with a goal at 2:30 but Bucknell responded with a score at 1:55. Back-to-back goals from Lightner and Jackson Kay gave MIT a two-goal advantage, but the Bison got a goal from Aleksa Stefanovic and Sean Tunnicliff tied the match at 13 with his goal with three second remaining.
- Rajadhyax sealed the thrilling win for the Engineers with his score at 1:07 in the sudden victory third overtime period.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Lightner led the way with a career-best six goals and three steals. Schaffer, Lundh and Kay all scored two goals in the match.
- Kay, Lundh and Ranaudo had two assists each in the contest. Kay also had three steals.
- Gill made ten stops in goal while Woren had five.
- Tunnicliff led Bucknell with four goals.
UP NEXT:
- MIT continues play at the Bruno Classic with two more matches tomorrow, Sunday August 31. The Engineers will play Wagner at 10:30 AM followed by a 2:00 PM match against Gannon.
STAY CONNECTED:
