ANNAPOLIS, Md. (November 20, 2021) – With six goals in the final quarter, Mount St. Mary's men's water polo earned some much needed momentum as they embark on their last game of the season. Defeated by Bucknell 17-11, the Mount plays in the seventh place game Sunday morning to conclude the Mid-Atlantic Water Polo East Championships.
 
Kiahi Horan led the scoring with a hat trick, and Jason O'Donnell along with Nate Hopkins registered multi-goal games. Horan also added five assists, which stands as a new team high for the season. The team faced adversity as two premier players – Eli Thalos and Marko Kruska – committed three exclusions, resulting in premature ends to their days.
 
Bucknell maintained the advantage for the whole game, jumping out to a 2-0 lead. Horan scored his first with 4:41 left in the opening quarter to make it 2-1, but that was as close as the Mount would get.
 
The Bison built the lead as high as 10 exiting the third quarter. With the contest decided, Mount St. Mary's elected to keep pressing to the end. Hopkins scored both his goals during the stretch and Horan rounded out the run by securing his hat trick. The 5-1 run pushed the Bucknell edge from 16-6 to 17-11.
 
Johns Hopkins will be the Mount's opponent in the seventh place game. The contest begins at 9 a.m. Sunday (Nov. 21) and serves as a grudge match between the two schools.
 
Bucknell 17, Mount St. Mary's 11
Team                  1    2    3    4
Mount St. Mary's      2    2    1    6
Bucknell              4    5    6    2
 
Mount St. Mary's Goals: Horan 3, Hopkins 2, O'Donnell 2, Thalos 1, Cieplik 1, McNeal-Villafana 1, Fischer 1