Men’s Water Polo defeated Mount St. Mary’s in overtime after a vicious sudden death Friday night. The Bison earned a huge win for their standing in the Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference but also brought home a win that earned coach John McBride the most wins in program history.
Mount St. Mary’s came out hot in the beginning leading, 4-0 against the Bison before Aleksa Stefanovic ’26 and Hasan Mogultay ’25 both scored goals to bring back the score to 4-2. Although this was great for the Bison, Mount St. Mary’s came back with two more goals. Bucknell’s offense felt the pressure to gain momentum for a comeback.
In the third quarter, Bucknell’s offense closed the gap between scores by Shay Gillearn ’25 and Matt Ryckman ’25, with Gillearn later putting the Bison ahead to 8-7 in the fourth quarter. This game was a battle for both teams, and with two minutes remaining in regulation, Sean Tunnicliff ’27 tied the game 11-11, sending the game into overtime.
In overtime, defense was the name of the game for both teams hoping to pull out a win. The score remained the same after two periods, but finally, Tunnicliff secured the winning shot that labeled the Orange and Blue victorious after a brutal battle.
“We played in a challenging shallow-deep pool environment, which tested our adaptability and skills,” Stefanovic said. “Despite trailing, we showed incredible mental strength by making a comeback in the last two minutes of the game to force overtime. After several tough, close losses, we finally secured a hard-earned victory.”
The Bison’s next game will be against Fordham, away, on Nov. 9 at 11 a.m.
