The weekend before Thanksgiving, the Bison Men’s Water Polo team dove into their final games of the season. The MAWPC Championship lasted Friday through Sunday, with the Bison facing off against Wagner, Mount St. Mary’s and Gannon. 

The first game of the postseason tournament took place on Friday, where the team took on Wagner. The Orange and the Blue started off with a strong lead, ending the first quarter with a 4-0 lead with two goals each from Josh Yardley ’22 and Hasan Mogultay ’25. Wagner did not go this quarter without effort, with goalkeeper Adrien Touzot ’23 posting six saves in that quarter alone.

The Bison struggled to maintain a lead for the rest of the game. The Seahawks tied the game six minutes into the third quarter, and after another goal from both Shay Gillearn ’25 and Wagner, the game was tied at five.

Despite the Bison’s effort, the Seahawks took the game with a score of 8-7. Touzot made a season-high 19 saves in attempt to keep the score tight. 

The Bison’s second game occurred just the next day, with the team hoping to bounce back from their first loss of the weekend. The game versus Mount St. Mary’s started strong as well, the team taking a 4-1 lead early into the game with two goals from Mogultay and one from Yardley and Ethan Jones ’24 each. The Bison maintained their information for the rest of the game, the Mount attempting to close the gap in the second but never pushing past a three-point gap. 

They outscored the Mountaineers 6-1 in the third quarter, securing their lead and carrying the momentum through the end for a 17-11 victory. Touzot split this game in net with goalkeeper Jack Otto ’22, putting up nine and three saves respectively. 

The final game took place Sunday, the men vying for fifth place and an 11th straight winning season in their match versus Gannon. 

This game was closer than the others, the first quarter starting off with a 3-2 lead for the Bison. By the end of the second, the game was at 4-2, with Jones’ second goal of the match. They were able to pull an even larger lead in the third quarter, managing a 6-2 lead over the Golden Knights. However, Gannon kept the game close, and by the beginning of the fourth, the score was at 8-7. 

The last and victory securing goal was scored by Gillian, who scored a record three goals in this match. The Bison won the game 9-7, earning fifth place for the season. 

Andu Vlasceanu ’24 and Mogultay were each named to a MAWPC All-Conference Team following the weekend, Vlasceanu earning first team and Mogultay second. 

With the season over, the Bison say farewell to a stellar senior class. “I’m going to miss being a part of a team that acts like a family. The water polo team has become my family and who I lean on for anything. They are my closest set of friends and I am going to miss all the times we have together from the highs to the lows I could always count on these guys for everything.” Otto said. 

To offset the losses, the returning Bison are looking forward to the next season. “It’s going to be difficult to replace the leadership the seniors brought to the team, but returning a large group of the team will help us build back to being a championship team. This off-season the team is going to work on skills to better prepare for late game execution and defense,” Yardley said.