By Anthony Ali
Fordham water polo headed to Connecticut College in New London, Connecticut, and then to Providence, Rhode Island, to face Brown University as it started conference play this weekend. The Rams finished the day with a 13-9 victory at Connecticut, but fell to Brown, 12-6. The results put Fordham at 7-3 on the season.
In its first game of the day, Fordham bested Connecticut College, 13-9. The Rams opened their lead early in the first quarter, with the first stanza of play ending 3-1 in favor of the Rams. By halftime, the lead opened up to three, with the score at 6-3. Fordham preserved its three goal lead, netting another three to make the tally 9-6. A four goal flurry in the fourth quarter ultimately put the game squarely in the Rams’ win column, 13-9.
The Rams were led by senior Ori Raz, who netted twice. Sophomore R.J. Simmons and freshman Ethan Vandeventer also scored two each, while juniors Bobby Wurtz, Andrew Gonzalez, Davis DeFontes, Patrick Reyes, Landon Kern and Cameron Shewchuck also all found the back of the net. Rounding out the scoring was freshman Grant Keesling, who would add one goal. Senior goalkeeper Noah LeBeau continued to perform well in goal, with six saves, two steals and a penalty save. The Rams were also bolstered by the presence of senior Eric Minowitz, amid fear that he might miss this weekend’s matches after being forced to exit a game last weekend with a bloody nose. “I never like to see any of our guys go down the way he did,” Coach Bill Harris said last week about the injury. “If he can’t play, that’ll be a real loss for us. We’re talking about a guy who wins a large percentage of his swim-offs, who’s real fast and gets in good positions.”
The Rams then made their way to Rhode Island, to take on Brown. Down 8-3 at the half, Fordham failed to make the comeback, as the Rams were outscored 4-3 in the second half. Gonzalez scored another two goals with Minowitz matching his output with two of his own. Wurtz and Reyes netted one goal each as well. In net, LeBeau made ten saves, while junior goalkeeper Patrick Harrigan had one.
These two games capped off what was an overall positive week for the Rams, who had three players receive weekly CWPA awards. LeBeau received his second consecutive Defensive Player of the Week award, after making 36 saves and four steals in last weekend’s Bucknell Invitational.
“Noah was an all-conference player last year, so I wasn’t surprised to see him win the player of the week award,” Coach Harris said. “He’s a great athlete and leader in the pool.”
Vandeventer received Rookie of the Week honors after finishing the Bucknell Invitational with two goals, two assists and five steals. Perhaps his most notable contribution was his game-winning goal against Bucknell in a sudden death period, which snapped a 33-year losing streak to the Bison. Joining the honorees was Simmons, who was added to the CWPA Offensive Honor Roll after tallying eight goals, six assists and nine steals in his performances during the Bucknell Invitational.
Fordham water polo will be back in action on Sept. 25, when the Rams travel to New Rochelle, New York to take on Iona at 7:30 p.m.
