Fordham Water Polo added another win to its tally on Wednesday, Oct. 23 with a thrilling overtime win against Wagner. The #16-ranked Rams pulled off a 12–11 victory against the Seahawks in the dying minutes of overtime at home in the Col. Francis B. Messmore Aquatic Center. This puts the Rams at a 17–5 record overall on the season. They are currently 5–2 in the MAWPC East, placing them third in the division.
The Rams entered the Wagner match after split results in their two home games on Oct. 19. Fordham competed in a close game against Navy for the first game of the day, but ultimately were unable to hang onto the lead. The final score was 15–12 in favor of Navy. In the second game of the day, Fordham defeated #18-ranked Princeton in a close contest. Senior Jake Miller-Tolt had an absolutely stellar game, dominating the pool offensively. Miller-Tolt scored seven of Fordham’s 11 goals in the match, including the game-winning shot with 2:58 left to go. The Rams then let their defense do the work, preventing Princeton from scoring in the last two minutes. Miller-Tolt also had four steals on the game to go along with his seven goals. Senior George Maltby scored twice during the match, with junior Phillip Wang and senior Tristen Knoflick adding on the remaining goals. The end result was an 11–10 win for Fordham.
In the Wagner match on Wednesday, the Rams battled fiercely against the Seahawks for the entirety of the game, with neither team truly having an upper hand throughout. Wagner took the early 3–1 lead by the end of the first quarter. Goals from Jake Miller-Tolt and Tristen Knoflick tied it up at 3-3 early in the second, with offensive play being largely stifled on both sides of the pool. Both teams traded goals until the end of the first half, where Wagner managed to obtain a 5–4 lead. That one-goal lead for the Seahawks continued through the third quarter at 7–6, but Fordham persisted in the fourth quarter, tying up the score three more times. Wagner had a 10–9 lead with under a minute to go, but Phillip Wang netted an extra-man goal with 30 seconds left to play, bringing the score to 10 even and forcing overtime. Sophomore Dimitris Koukias scored with nine seconds left in the first half of overtime, but Wagner evened it up again in the second half with the clock trailing down. The final goal came from senior and ex-Seahawk Oscar Nomura, with Fordham’s defense keeping Wagner off the board in the remaining minute. Sophomore goalkeeper Bailey O’ Mara had a fantastic game, racking up 15 saves. The final result was a 12–11 Rams victory.
The Wagner game was another impressive showing for the Rams, who continue to play strong and prove to be a serious competitor. Fordham is back in the pool on Wednesday, Nov. 6, where they take on Iona in the annual Judge Cup here in the Bronx. The game begins at 7:30 p.m.
