Bucknell Men’s Water Polo hosted the Bucknell Invitational this past weekend. It started off Friday against Mount St. Mary’s. The team then met #10 Fordham and McKendree on Saturday. Sunday followed with a final, exciting game against Wagner.
Friday night’s game at Kinney Natatorium started off hot for both ends. The Bison led 5-4 just five and a half minutes in.
The teams traded the lead a few times before the Bison managed to stretch the lead to 10-6 at the half. With some defensive stops and a dominating offense, the Orange and Blue continued to maintain control of the game as it ended in an 18-13 victory.
Tyler Hedblad ’28 led with four goals, followed by Sean Tunnicliff ’27 with three and Matt Ryckman ’25, Aleksa Stefanovic ’26, Jack Dillane ’28 and Shay Gillearn ’25 all with two.
The three-time defending MAWPC Fordham Rams jumped to an immediate lead in the opening period of Saturday’s game. The Bison managed to put up one goal coming from Hedblad to lessen the 3-0 gap. The score sat at 7-1 to start the second period.
The Bison were able to come together offensively to even the game out. Tunnicliff and Stefanovic each put up goals. Defensively, they limited the Rams to four goals in the second period. Offensively, the Orange and Blue continued to shine. Four Bison managed to find the back of the net. The effort was led by Jake Wedding ’28 and followed by Hedblad, Tunnicliff and Gillearn. However, the Rams never lost grasp of their lead and managed to add six goals.
In the final period, the Bison pulled off two more goals but were met with three from Fordham. The game finished in a 20-9 Bison loss.
The Bison used the momentum from game one to kick off the second match against McKendree. The Bearcats managed to grab the first goal. But the Bison responded with a 5-1 run to establish a comfortable lead early on. Goals came from Stefanovic, Gillearn and Tunnicliff.
The game was 9-5 at the half. Stefanovic added two more goals and Gillearn and Maxime Touzot ’26 each added one.
At the start of the third quarter, McKendree cut the gap to 10-7. The Bison offense continued to dominate to prevent the Bearcats from stealing back the lead. Frequent scorers from the weekend, Gillearn and Stefanovic, were joined by Jack Murad ’26 and Jovan Udovici ’28 to set the score 14-7 going into the final period of the game.
McKendree outscored the Bison in the last period with four goals, but the Bison never lost the lead and ended with a 17-11 win. Jack Bruce ’25 and Ned Smith ’28 joined their teammates on the scoresheet. Stefanovic finished the day with six goals, followed by Gillearn who contributed five.
The weekend ended with a heated match against Wagner. Gillearn started the attack with a goal 40 seconds into the match. Once again, the Bison saw a variety of players contribute to the score: Stefanovic with five, Hedblad with three and Gillearn and Udovici with two each.
Throughout the first half, the teams went back and forth, neither leading by more than one goal. The Orange and Blue saw a 5-2 run in the second quarter that helped them take control of the game. The Bison led 8-5 at the half and used this momentum in their fiery start to the third period. Ryckman, Udovici and Stefanovic led the offense with a 4-3 run to start the second half. This period proved crucial to the Bison’s 13-12 victory over Wagner.
Men’s Water Polo stays at home for a singular match against Mercyhurst on Sept. 29 at 3 p.m.
