The Bison men’s water polo team returned home for two games this weekend, improving their overall record to 17-7 after two great wins against La Salle University and Johns Hopkins.

The Bison used a quick start to gain momentum in their first game on Nov. 2 against La Salle University. Jared Stanley ’21 led the charge with two straight goals on assists from Andu Vlasceanu ’23 and Rade Joksimovic ’20. Vlasceanu and Joksimovic both followed with goals of their own while Logan Schofield ’20 also found the back of the cage to give the Bison a 7-0 lead to start.

Cooper Dolan ’20 opened up the second period for the Orange and Blue with a goal. Schofield and Vlasceanu then both scored a goal each, adding a larger cushion to the Bison’s lead. La Salle was finally able to stop the Bison’s charge with a goal halfway through the second period. Colby Paine ’23 added one more to the Orange and Blue’s lead before the half, bringing the score to 11-2 in favor of the Bison.

Seeking to extend their lead, Jeff Brill ’23 and Kyle Poland ’21 each scored their first career goals in the fourth period, with Poland adding another goal later on in the match.

Stanley, Schofield, Joksimovic and Vlasceanu all contributed three goals apiece to the Bison’s 21-3 victory over La Salle. Adrien Touzot ’23 and Jack Otto ’22 split time in the cage and combined for 11 saves holding the Explorers to only three goals.

The Orange and Blue returned to the pool on Nov. 3 for another game against Johns Hopkins, keeping their momentum from their previous win going. Joksimovic not only added nine goals on the day but also scored his 100th goal of the season.

Stanley added a goal early on for the Bison a few minutes after Joksimovic, giving the Orange and Blue a 2-1 lead after the first period. Joksmiovic converted a penalty shot, his first of three on the day, to start off the second-period scoring. Johns Hopkins pulled within one with a goal of their own but the Bison scored four straight goals to give them a 7-2 lead at the half.

After halftime, the Orange and Blue kept their foot on the gas and started things off with a goal from Schofield on a pass from teammate Joksimovic. After Schofield’s goal, Joksimovic put the nail in the coffin with four straight goals, giving the Bison a 12-4 lead at the end of the third.

With a strong team effort on both offense and defense, the Bison would swim away with a 15-7 win over Johns Hopkins to wrap up the weekend. The Orange and Blue scored 15 goals on 25 shots while Touzot and Otto combined for 13 saves in the cage.

“This was a great weekend for us to improve on our 6 on 5 and fine-tune it since we are only a few weeks away from championships. We were fortunate enough to have some of the younger members on the team heavily contribute to both sides of the pool. All in all, we are eager to play in front of the home crowd again this weekend with two big games that can affect conference seedings ahead of the tournament,” Dolan said. 

The Bison will be home again this weekend for two conference games against Navy and George Washington on Nov. 10.