No. 19 Men’s Water Polo Falls to No. 15 GW, 10-7, No. 14 Bucknell, 11-6

Sunday, September 15

Princeton, NJ

10:30 AM

Brown University

George Washington University

No. 19 Men’s Water Polo Falls to No. 15 GW, 10-7, No. 14 Bucknell, 11-6

9/15/2019 5:37:00 PM | Men's Water Polo

PRINCETON, N.J. – No. 19 Brown University men's water polo fell to No. 15 George Washington University, 10-7, and No. 14 Bucknell University, 11-6, in a pair of games at the Princeton Invitational on Sunday at DeNunzio Pool.

The Bears (7-3) pulled within one goal of both teams in the second half before the nationally ranked Colonials (6-1) and Bison (6-1) gained separation in the morning and afternoon respectively.

"Today was a rough one for us offensively," Brown head coach Felix Mercado said. "We struggled with the power play vs. GW and couldn't shoot the ball vs. Bucknell. We have some work to do, but we are moving in the right direction."

Senior James Thygesen (Menlo Park, Calif.) led the Bears with four goals between the two games while freshman Cole Atwell (San Diego, Calif.) netted three goals on the day. Junior goalkeeper Riad Hallal (Coronado, Calif.) totaled 29 saves on Sunday.

Next, Brown competes at the Air Force Invitational, taking on No. 7 Long Beach State (Sept. 21, 5:00 p.m. ET), the host Falcons (Sept. 21, 8:30 p.m. ET), and Chapman (Sept. 22, 11:00 a.m. ET).

Game 1 – No. 15 George Washington 10, No. 19 Brown 7

Senior James Thygesen netted a hat trick, but No. 19 Brown dropped a 10-7 decision to No. 15 George Washington on Sunday morning in its first game of the day and third contest of the weekend.

The Bears trimmed their deficit to 7-6 with 5:54 remaining in the fourth quarter prior to the Colonials closing the contest on a 3-1 run.

Thygesen (Menlo Park, Calif.) paced Brown with his three goals alongside an assist. Senior Armen Deirmenjian (Beverly Hills, Calif.) posted two goals and an assist, and freshman Cole Atwell (San Diego, Calif.) finished with a goal and three ejections drawn.

Freshman Leo Berkman (Orinda, Calif.) netted a goal, and senior Hudson Rawlings (Murrieta, Calif.) drew four ejections to go with an assist.

In the cage, junior goalie Riad Hallal (Coronado, Calif.) stopped 16 shots.

After GW opened the game with a 2-0 lead, Thygesen scored just before the end of the first quarter to cut the margin to 2-1. Following a pair of Colonial markers, Deirmenjian scored to bring the score to 4-2 before GW carried a 5-2 edge into the locker room.

Following a GW tally to open the second half, the Bears used a 4-1 run to pull within 7-6 with 5:54 to play in the fourth quarter. Thygesen and Atwell started the run with third-quarter goals, slicing the deficit to 7-4 heading to the fourth frame.

Thygesen and Deirmenjian continued the run as the Bears pulled within a goal at 7-6. GW responded with a 3-1 spurt to close the contest with Berkman scoring the final goal for Brown, making the score 9-7 with 2:17 to play.

George Washington 10, Brown 7
Brown....................... 1…1…2…3…7
GW............................ 2…3…2…3…10
Brown Goals: Thygesen 3, Deirmenjian 2, Atwell, Berkman.
Brown Saves: Hallal 16.

Game 2 – No. 14 Bucknell 11, No. 19 Brown 6

Junior goalkeeper Riad Hallal compiled 13 saves, but No. 19 Brown fell to No. 14 Bucknell, 11-6, on Sunday afternoon in its second game of the day and fourth and final contest of the weekend.

The Bears came within 5-4 early in the third quarter before the Bison moved ahead 11-4 early in the fourth quarter behind a 6-0 run.

Freshman Cole Atwell (San Diego, Calif.) scored two goals, senior Hudson Rawlings (Murrieta, Calif.) tallied a goal and an assist, and freshman Nick Berry (San Anselmo, Calif.) charted a goal and a steal.

Senior James Thygesen (Menlo Park, Calif.) and junior Aidan Reilly (Los Angeles, Calif.) each netted one goal.

With his 13 saves against Bucknell, Hallal finished the weekend with 54 saves over four games played (13.5 saves per game).

After Rawlings initiated the contest's scoring, Bucknell scored twice to pull ahead 2-1. Berry closed the quarter's scoring, knotting the score at 2-2 at the end of one. Reilly scored on either side of Bison markers in the second quarter as Bucknell took a 4-3 edge into the intermission.

Following a tally from Thygesen that kept Brown within one goal at 5-4 at the 7:16 mark of the third quarter, Bucknell scored six straight goals to pull ahead 11-4 with 6:22 remaining. Atwell stopped the run with the contest's final two goals.

Brown fell to Bucknell for the second time on the season as the Bears dropped a 17-9 decision to the Bison on Sept. 8.

Bucknell 11, Brown 6
Brown....................... 2…1…1…2…6
Bucknell................... 2…2…4…3…11
Brown Goals: Atwell 2, Berry, Rawlings, Reilly, Thygesen.
Brown Saves: Hallal 13.