No. 20 Men’s Water Polo Battles in Setbacks to No. 9 Long Beach, Air Force

Saturday, September 21

USAF Academy, CO

5:00 PM ET

Brown University

Long Beach State University

No. 20 Men’s Water Polo Battles in Setbacks to No. 9 Long Beach, Air Force

9/21/2019 10:10:00 PM | Men's Water Polo

Long Beach Results Air Force Results

USAF ACADEMY, Colo. – No. 20 Brown University men's water polo made second-half comebacks in both games but dropped decisions to No. 9 Long Beach State University, 18-13, and Air Force, 14-12, on Saturday at Cadet Natatorium at the Air Force Invitational.

The Bears (7-5) used a 4-0 run to pull within 14-13 of the 49ers (8-3) in their first game of the day and erased a four-goal halftime deficit against the Falcons (6-3) before falling in both contests.

"We have plenty to work on, but we understand that this is a long season," Brown head coach Felix Mercado said. "We are playing well in stretches but need to be more consistent over the course of a full 32 minutes."

A total of 12 different Bears scored on the day with senior James Thygesen (Menlo Park, Calif.), junior Aidan Reilly (Los Angeles, Calif.), sophomore Matt Simko (Coral Gables, Fla.), and freshman Cole Atwell (San Diego, Calif.) each scoring three goals. Sophomore goalie Ugo Piovan (Vouliagmeni, Greece) and junior goalie Riad Hallal (Coronado, Calif.) combined for 23 saves on the day.

Next, Brown completes play at the Air Force Invitational, tomorrow – Sunday, Sept. 22 – at 11:00 a.m. ET against Chapman.

Game 1 – No. 9 Long Beach State 18, No. 20 Brown 13

Sophomore goalkeeper Ugo Piovan made 14 saves, and the Bears totaled 10 different goal scorers, but No. 20 Brown fell to No. 9 Long Beach State, 18-13, on Saturday afternoon in its first game of the day.

The Bears used a 4-0 run to trim their deficit to 14-13 heading to the fourth quarter before the 49ers took the final frame, 4-0.

Senior James Thygesen (Menlo Park, Calif.) and sophomores Gabe Kaplan (Santa Monica, Calif.) and Andrew Penner (Atherton, Calif.) each scored two goals with Thygesen adding an assist.

Seven Bears scored one goal apiece, including seniors Will Collier (Darien, Conn.) and Armen Deirmenjian (Beverly Hills, Calif.), junior Aidan Reilly (Los Angeles, Calif.), sophomores Niko Bhatia (Los Altos, Calif.) and Stephen Salle (Chadds Ford, Pa.), and freshmen Cole Atwell (San Diego, Calif.) and Leo Berkman (Orinda, Calif.).

Reilly paced the Bears with five assists, and Atwell and Deirmenjian each tallied an assist and two steals.

Piovan (Vouliagmeni, Greece) stopped a 5-meter penalty shot as part of his 14-save effort.

Thygesen and Salle scored the Bears' first two goals to give Brown a 2-1 lead less than two minutes into the game. After Long Beach used a 4-0 run to pull ahead 5-2, goals from Penner and Kaplan and a 5-meter save from Piovan brought Brown within 5-4 at the end of one.

Goals from Bhatia and Penner kept Brown within one goal at 7-6 with 3:34 left in the second quarter. The 49ers gained a 9-6 edge before tallies from Deirmenjian and Thygesen allowed the Bears to stay within 10-8. LBSU scored the half's final goal to take an 11-8 advantage at the break.

Reilly netted the Bears' first goal of the second half, but a 3-1 run gave LBSU a 14-9 lead. Brown responded with a 4-0 streak behind goals from Kaplan, Collier, Atwell, and Berkman to cut the deficit to 14-13 heading to the final frame.

LBSU then outscored Brown 4-0 in the final frame, netting two goals in the first 1:02 of the period and notching two goals in the last 2:18.

Long Beach State 18, Brown 13
Brown....................... 4…4…5…0…13
Long Beach............. 5…6…3…4…18
Brown Goals: Kaplan 2, Penner 2, Thygesen 2, Atwell, Berkman, Bhatia, Collier, Deirmenjian, Reilly, Salle.
Brown Saves: Piovan 14.

Game 2 – Air Force 14, No. 20 Brown 12

Sophomore Matt Simko scored a hat trick, but No. 20 Brown dropped a 14-12 decision to Air Force on Saturday night in its second game of the day.

The Bears turned a 7-3 halftime deficit into a tie game at 12-12 with 1:11 to go in the fourth quarter before the host Falcons scored the contest's final two goals.

Simko (Coral Gables, Fla.) led the Brown offense with three goals while juniors Adam Fuller (Santa Barbara, Calif.) and Aidan Reilly (Los Angeles, Calif.) and freshman Cole Atwell (San Diego, Calif.) each netted two goals. Reilly also came up with three steals.

Senior Armen Deirmenjian (Beverly Hills, Calif.) posted a goal and two assists, senior James Thygesen (Menlo Park, Calif.) tallied a goal and two steals, and sophomore Niko Bhatia (Los Altos, Calif.) notched a goal and an assist. Freshman Leo Berkman (Orinda, Calif.) added two assists.

In the cage, junior goalie Riad Hallal (Coronado, Calif.) made 10 saves.

Following an Air Force goal to open the game, Simko and Reilly converted back-to-back goals to put Brown up 2-1. The Falcons scored the next two goals to gain a 3-2 edge at the close of the first quarter.

The hosts outscored the Bears 4-1 in the second quarter with Thygesen scoring Brown's only goal in the frame as Air Force held a 7-3 lead at halftime.

Atwell scored consecutive goals to pull Brown within 7-5 in the third quarter. Fuller and Simko each matched Air Force goals later in the frame, keeping Brown within 9-7 heading to the fourth quarter.

Goals from Fuller and Simko early in the fourth quarter allowed Brown to pull within 10-9 with 5:15 to play. Reilly and Bhatia kept the Bears within 11-10 and 12-11 respectively before Deirmenjian knotted the game at 12-12 with 1:11 remaining. Air Force countered with a goal with 53 seconds to play and added a marker with one second on the clock after making a defensive stop.

Air Force 14, Brown 12
Brown....................... 2…1…4…5…12
Air Force................... 3…4…2…5…14
Brown Goals: Simko 3, Atwell 2, Fuller 2, Reilly 2, Bhatia, Deirmenjian, Thygesen.
Brown Saves: Hallal 10.