BALTIMORE, Md. — The Connecticut College men’s water polo team downed Austin College, 12-11, and Monmouth College, 15-14 in overtime, to accompany a 15-13 loss to Penn State Behrend over the weekend to clinch a Fifth Place finish at the 2018 Division III Eastern Championship hosted by Johns Hopkins University.
Junior Arturo Freitas (Cypress Bay - Weston, Fla.) made the All-Tournament First Team by providing five goals overall, including one during an overtime win, as well as two steals and an assist over the first day of action.
Connecticut College started the tournament on Saturday, October 13, by battling Penn State Behrend down to the wire for the second time this season to open tournament play. The Nittany Lions jumped out to a 4-0 advantage, but the Camels rallied and took their first lead when freshman John Krill (Stamford, Conn.) tallied a goal to make it 7-6 with 5:15 remaining in the second quarter.
Penn State Behrend, however, recovered and regained the lead just 12 seconds into the third on a Greg Kinzler strike that created a 10-9 score. The Nittany Lions extended their advantage to as many as three goals on four occasions and held on for the win.
Freshman Mike Gertsik (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and Freitas netted two goals apiece, while freshman Lucas Verrilli (Evanston, Ill.)added four steals and won two sprints. Freshman Danny Meisel (Santa Cruz, Calif.) made six saves in more than 23 minutes of action between the pipes.
Later in the day, the Camels rallied from behind and held off a late charge by Austin College to win by a single goal. The team trailed by a 3-2 margin with 4:48 remaining in the third and then broke loose by rattling off seven unanswered markers in less than eight minutes.
Beginning with a power play goal by junior Rahul Gill (Bethesda, Md.), Connecticut College had six different players find the back of the net to establish control of the contest. Gertsik added a power play goal in the fourth to give the Camels a 12-8 lead with 1:24 remaining, and the team survived a late comeback effort by the Roos to escape with the win.
Gill netted a hat trick for the Camels, and two players – junior Sean King (La Canada, Calif.) and Verilli – contributed three steals. Sophomore Tanner Michaelis (Ramona, Calif.) picked up the win between the posts by making five saves.
On Sunday, October 14, Connecticut College concluded the tournament in thrilling fashion by defeating Monmouth in overtime. Neither team led by more than one goal, and the match featured 14 ties and six lead changes until it was decided. Gertisk would eventually prove to be the hero by scoring the game-winning goal with 20 seconds remaining in overtime to complete a hat trick and help the Camels conclude the weekend event on a high note.
In addition to Gertsik’s hat trick, the Camels got a four-goal effort from Krill and eight saves from Michaelis.
Release courtesy Connecticut College Athletics Communications
No comments:
Post a Comment