Men's Water Polo Tops W&J, Falls to MIT

ERIE, Pa. - The Austin College men's water polo team topped Washington & Jefferson 13-6 to advance to the second round of the CWPA Division III Eastern Championships, but fell to MIT 14-10 on Saturday afternoon.

The 'Roos raced out to a 4-0 lead on Washington & Jefferson to open the day, and after the Presidents got on the board the lead grew to 6-1 before W&J fought back to trim the margin to 7-4 at halftime. The teams traded goals early in the third quarter to make it 8-4, but Austin College would take control and close the period on a 4-1 run to lead 12-5 heading into the fourth, ultimately cruising to the 13-6 victory.

Evan Cueva, Jack Stack, and Cade Griffith each tallied three goals in the win for Austin College, and Max Wade chipped in a pair of scores. Andrew Galt rounded out the scoring, finding the back of the cage once.

Against MIT, the 'Roos took an early 2-0 lead on goals by Wade and Dylan McArthur, and after the Engineers got on the scoreboard to make it 2-1, Austin College went on top 4-2 with Wade and Cueva each sending one in. However, MIT would rally back and take a 5-4 lead before Wade scored once more in the period to square things up at 5-5 after one.

The Engineers out-scored the 'Roos 3-1 in the second quarter to head into halftime holding an 8-6 lead, and the teams traded two goals apiece in the third, making it 10-8 heading into the final frame. MIT would push the lead to 12-9, and after McArthur scored to cut it to a 12-10 game, the Engineers closed the game with two more goals to make it a 14-10 final.

Wade finished with five goals, while McArthur and Cueva had two each and Griffith scored once in the loss.