Brown University
George Washington
No. 13 Men's Water Polo Defeats GW, Wagner; Falls to No. 10 UC Davis on Opening Day
9/3/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Water Polo
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – No. 13 Brown University men's water polo defeated George Washington University, 12-11, and Wagner College, 14-5, before falling to No. 10 University of California, Davis, 9-8, on the first day of the Bruno Classic at the Katherine Moran Coleman Aquatics Center on Saturday.
On the opening day of the 2016 season, the Bears (2-1) pulled out a victory over the Colonials (0-1) in the first game of the tournament prior to defeating the Seahawks (0-1) – a team making its debut as a varsity program. Brown gained a late lead against the Aggies (1-1) in their nightcap before dropping the decision.
For the day, senior Yahel Murvitz-Lahav (Tel Aviv, Israel) tallied five goals and seven assists while senior Warren Smith (Dallas, Texas) and junior Tyler Kirchberg (Orinda, Calif.) each scored six goals. Senior Jake Wyatt (Corona Del Mar, Calif.) dished out five assists.
In the net, senior goalkeeper Luke Weiser (Los Alamitos, Calif.) made 21 saves between the three games and added three assists.
Next, Brown continues play at the Bruno Classic tomorrow with games against No. 16 Johns Hopkins (9:00 a.m.) and No. 4 Pacific (12:30 p.m.).
Game 1 – No. 13 Brown 12, George Washington 11
Smith and Kirchberg each scored three goals to lead No.13 Brown to a 12-11 win over George Washington in its season opener on Saturday morning.
Smith added an assist and two ejections drawn while Kirchberg chipped in three ejections drawn and a steal. Murvitz-Lahav tallied two goals, three assists, and two steals, and junior Tommy Bush (Lafayette, Calif.) netted two goals.
Senior Luke Irwin (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) and junior Rico Burke (San Mateo, Calif.) each scored one goal while freshman Hudson Rawlings (Murrieta, Calif.) notched an assist and three ejections drawn.
Weiser made nine saves and tacked on two assists.
With the game tied 7-7 entering the fourth quarter, Weiser stopped back-to-back shots, including one at point blank range, to set the tone for the frame. Smith and Murvitz-Lahav then scored back-to-back goals to put the Bears up 9-7 with 5:17 to play.
After a GW goal made it 9-8, Brown pulled ahead 11-8 on tallies from Smith and Murvitz-Lahav with 3:35 remaining. The Colonials trimmed the margin to 11-10, but a goal from Kirchberg in transition gave the hosts the insurance they needed.
In the opening quarter, Kirchberg netted the game's first two goals prior to the Colonials knotting the score at 2-2. Bush scored on the power play to close the frame and give Brown a 3-2 edge after one.
Despite a goal from Bush, George Washington charted three of the second quarter's four goals to bring a 5-4 advantage into halftime.
Brown opened the second half with goals from Burke and Irwin with Murvitz-Lahav providing assists on both markers. Burke scored his goal on a one-time turnaround shot off a feed inside. Smith scored in between a pair of GW tallies to keep the game tied at 7-7 heading to the fourth.
Brown 12, George Washington 11
Brown....................... 3…1…3…5…12
G. Washington........ 2…3…2…4…11
Brown Goals: Kirchberg 3, Smith 3, Bush 2, Murvitz-Lahav 2, Burke, Irwin.
Brown Saves: Weiser 9.
Game 2 – No. 13 Brown 14, Wagner 5
No. 13 Brown placed 11 different student-athletes in the scoring column as the Bears defeated Wagner, 14-5, in their second game of the day on Saturday afternoon.
Burke, Kirchberg, and freshman James Thygesen (Menlo Park, Calif.) each scored two goals. Freshmen Christian Cooper (Chicago, Ill.), Galen Hu (Colleyville, Texas), and Hudson Rawlings (Murrieta, Calif.) each netted one goal.
Junior Austin Hwang (Laguna Hills, Calif.), sophomore Santiago Nunez (Miami, Fla.), Murvitz-Lahav, Smith, and Wyatt all tacked on one goal apiece. Rookie Will Collier (Darien, Conn.) dished out three assists.
In net, Weiser made six saves while Hwang stopped five shots. Freshman Armen Deirmenjian (Beverly Hills, Calif.) added four field blocks.
Brown took a 5-0 lead to open the game with Wyatt, Murvitz-Lahav, and Kirchberg all finding the back of the net before Burke added a pair of tallies. Wagner scored its first goal as a varsity program with 28 seconds left in the first quarter.
The Bears posted all four of the second quarter's goals to move ahead 9-1 at the break. Kirchberg, Smith, Hwang, and Hu provided the goals in order in the frame
Thygesen notched his first two career goals in between a Seahawk tally as Brown led 11-2 with 2:48 remaining in the third. Cooper and Rawlings charted their first career markers later in the frame to push Brown ahead 13-2 entering the fourth frame.
Nunez scored Brown's only goal in the fourth quarter while Wagner registered three tallies.
The Seahwaks competed in their first game in their first year as a varsity program.
Brown 14, Wagner 5
Brown....................... 5…4…4…1…14
Wagner..................... 1…0…1…3…5
Brown Goals: Burke 2, Kirchberg 2, Thygesen 2, Cooper, Hu, Hwang, Murvitz-Lahav, Nunez, Rawlings, Smith, Wyatt.
Brown Saves: Weiser 6, Hwang 5.
Game 3 – No. 10 UC Davis 9, Brown 8
No. 13 Brown pulled ahead 8-7 midway through the fourth quarter, but No. 10 UC Davis scored the game's final two goals to pull out a 9-8 decision in the Bears' third game of the day on Saturday night.
Murvitz-Lahav paced the Bears with two goals and three assists, Smith netted two goals, and Wyatt distributed three assists alongside a goal. Kirchberg posted a goal and an assist while Burke and Irwin each notched a goal. Bush tacked on an assist.
In the cage, Weiser turned aside six shots.
Trailing 7-6 entering the fourth quarter, Murvitz-Lahav tied the game at 7-7 off a pass from Bush. Burke gave Brown its first lead, 8-7, since early in the fourth quarter with a goal on the inside off a feed from Murvitz-Lahav with 4:00 to play. UC Davis netted goals with 3:35 and 1:58 to play to emerge with the win.
The Bears scored the game's first goal as Smith found the back of the net with a helper from Murvitz-Lahav less than a minute into the contest. After three consecutive goals from the Aggies, Murvitz-Lahav netted a marker off a Kirchberg pass to pull the hosts within 3-2 after one frame.
Brown went into the locker room tied at 4-4 with UCD due to goals from Irwin and Wyatt. Irwin started the stanza's scoring with an inside goal off a Wyatt pass, and Wyatt closed the period's scoring with a power play goal on the right wing via a Murvitz-Lahav assist.
UC Davis went ahead 5-4 on a penalty shot goal before Smith tied the game again at 5-5 with a goal off a cross-pool pass from Wyatt. The Aggies gained a 7-5 edge with 3:13 left in the third prior to Kirchberg scoring on the right wing off a Wyatt pass to cut the Bears' deficit to 7-6 heading to the fourth.
UC Davis 9, Brown 8
Brown....................... 2…2…2…2…8
UC Davis.................. 3…1…3…2…9
Brown Goals: Murvitz-Lahav 2, Smith 2, Burke, Irwin, Kirchberg, Wyatt.
Brown Saves: Weiser 6.
