Katherine Harris

Senior Writer 

The men’s water polo team competed hard on the road last weekend, taking down Navy before falling to George Washington and Johns Hopkins.

The Bison started out strong on Sept. 21 when they traveled to Annapolis, Md. to take on Navy in their first game of CWPA Southern Division play. Nick Hale ’16 led the Orange and Blue offense in the match, tallying three goals and one assist. Hale was backed up by Alex Nowlin ’14, who netted one goal of his own along with three assists. On the defensive side, Keegan Williams ’15 held up his end of the pool with 10 saves in goal, allowing the Bison to finish with an 8-6 victory.

“I think the team did well this past weekend,” Jack Else ’14 said. “It was great to beat Navy at their pool but we still have some work to do.” 

The Orange and Blue then drove to Washington D.C. to take on George Washington that evening. The Bison had strong offensive performances from many players, including Stefan Aleksic ’16 with four goals and Else and Julian Colina ’14 who both tallied three goals. Hale also had two goals on the night, but even with his contribution the team was unable to surmount the offensive onslaught of their opponent, losing 15-14 in the last minute of the game.

The Bison regrouped to take on a tough Johns Hopkins squad on Sept. 22. Else once again performed strongly for the Orange and Blue, tallying five goals on the day. He was backed up by teammate Mike Kimble ’14 with three goals, along with Stephen Norton ’14 with two. Williams had an even better day in goal for the squad, coming close to his career-high with 14 saves. Unfortunately, the team was still unable to pull out a victory, losing 14-12.

“It’s an ongoing process,” Else said. “The other two games this weekend were tough because we had to deal with shallow pools and we were out of our element. I was happy with the way I played but I always feel like I can do better.” 

The Bison will have a week off to practice and rest before continuing their season on Oct. 6 at Princeton.

“We will focus on defense and six on five these next two weeks in preparation for Princeton,” Else said.