Brown University
St. Francis (N.Y.)
No. 15 Men's Water Polo Sweeps Past St. Francis Brooklyn, Iona
10/2/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Water Polo
BROOKLYN HEIGHTS and NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. – No. 15 Brown University men's water polo beat St. Francis College Brooklyn, 11-10, in sudden victory overtime prior to defeating Iona College, 11-9, at the SFC Aquatic Center and Hynes Pool respectively on Sunday.
In a pair of Northeast Water Polo Conference contests, the Bears (10-6, 2-1 NWPC) came back from a 9-6 fourth-quarter deficit to edge the Terriers (6-8, 2-2 NWPC) in overtime before outscoring the Gaels (6-8, 1-3 NWPC), 5-3, in the fourth quarter to gain their second win of the day.
Senior Luke Irwin (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) scored four goals on the day, including the game winner against St. Francis Brooklyn. Junior Tyler Kirchberg (Orinda, Calif.) led the Bears with five goals on the day.
In the cage, senior goalkeeper Luke Weiser (Los Alamitos, Calif.) made 16 saves in the win over St. Francis.
Next, Brown continues NWPC play on the road on Saturday, Oct. 8 with games at MIT (10 a.m.) and at No. 8 Harvard (3 p.m.).
Game 1 – No. 15 Brown 11, St. Francis Brooklyn 10 (SVOT)
BROOKLYN HEIGHTS, N.Y. – Irwin scored three goals, including the game winner in sudden victory overtime, to lift No. 15 Brown past St. Francis Brooklyn, 11-10, on Sunday morning at the SFC Aquatic Center.
The Bears trailed 9-6 midway through the fourth quarter before netting the final three goals in regulation to send the contest to overtime tied at 9-9. Junior Tommy Bush (Lafayette, Calif.) gave the Bears their first lead of the game at 10-9 in overtime, and after the Terriers tied the contest at 10-10, Irwin pulled the game out for Brown with a goal in the sudden victory period.
Kirchberg netted three goals, all in the fourth quarter, to go with three steals and an assist while classmate Rico Burke (San Mateo, Calif.) posted two goals and two steals.
Bush passed out four assists alongside his goal, senior Warren Smith (Dallas, Texas) totaled a goal and three assists, and sophomore Spencer Carroll netted one goal. Freshman Hudson Rawlings (Murrieta, Calif.) made an impact outside the scoring column, drawing six ejections and grabbing three steals while Irwin drew three ejections of his own.
In net, Weiser recorded 16 saves, including four stops in overtime, three steals, and an assist.
With Brown trailing 7-5 entering the fourth quarter, Kirchberg cut the Bears' deficit to 7-6 before the Terriers scored twice to pull ahead 9-6 with 4:22 to go in regulation. Kirchberg responded with back-to-back goals to bring Brown within 9-8 with 2:25 to play in the fourth quarter. Burke sent the game to overtime with a goal with 25 seconds remaining.
Bush provided Brown with its first lead at 10-9 in the first part of overtime, but St. Francis countered with a marker in the second half of the session to extend the contest to a sudden victory period. Irwin provided the heroics for Brown in sudden victory, scoring on an inside shot.
The Terriers, coming off a 10-7 win over No. 8 Harvard, opened the game with a 3-0 lead after the first quarter. Brown proceeded to tie the game at 4-4 with 2:29 left in the second quarter behind goals from Irwin, Smith, Burke, and Carroll. St. Francis closed the half's scoring to take a 5-4 lead into the intermission.
Irwin opened the third quarter's scoring prior to a pair of tallies for the Terriers that gave the hosts their 7-5 advantage heading to the fourth quarter.
Brown 11, St. Francis 10
Brown....................... 0…4…1…4…2…11
St. Francis................ 3…2…2…2…1…10
Brown Goals: Irwin 3, Kirchberg 3, Burke 2, Bush, Carroll, Smith.
Brown Saves: Weiser 16.
Game 2 – No. 15 Brown 11, Iona 9
NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. – Kirchberg and Smith each scored two goals to lead Brown over Iona, 11-9, at Hynes Pool on Sunday afternoon in the team's second game of the day.
Entering the fourth quarter tied at 6-6, the Bears outscored the host Gales, 5-3, in the fourth quarter to emerge with the victory.
Kirchberg added two assists while Smith had one assist. Irwin tallied one goal, seven ejections drawn and two steals, and Burke posted a goal, an assist, and four steals.
Bush notched a goal, two assists, and two steals, senior Jake Wyatt (Corona Del Mar, Calif.) logged a goal and two assists, and Rawlings charted a goal and an assist. Junior Austin Hwang (Laguna Hills, Calif.) and freshman Armen Deirmenjian (Beverly Hills, Calif.) each netted one goal, and sophomore Santiago Nunez (Miami, Fla.) came up with two steals.
Sophomore goalie Will Renken (South Pasadena, Calif.) tallied three saves, an assist, and a steal while Weiser finished with two saves, two steals, and an assist.
Despite a goal from Hwang, Brown trailed Iona, 2-1 after one quarter. The Bears took the second quarter, 3-2, to knot the score at 4-4 heading into halftime. Kirchberg, Smith, and Deirmenjian provided the team's goals in the second stanza.
Irwin and Wyatt opened the second half's scoring to give Brown a 6-4 edge with 5:12 to go in the third quarter. The Gaels responded with two goals of their own to pull even at 6-6 entering the fourth frame.
The Bears claimed a 9-6 advantage with 5:22 to play after three unanswered goals from Burke, Kirchberg, and Bush. A Rawlings goal kept Brown up 10-7 with 3:44 remaining before the Gaels trimmed their deficit to 10-9 with 2:36 left. Smith netted an insurance marker for the visitors with 2:02 on the clock.
Brown 11, Iona 9
Brown....................... 1…3…2…5…11
Iona........................... 2…2…2…3…9
Brown Goals: Kirchberg 2, Smith 2, Burke, Bush, Deirmenjian, Hwang, Irwin, Rawlings, Wyatt.
Brown Saves: Renken 3, Weiser 2.
