MOUNT ST. MARY'S at LAKER INVITE/PENN STATE BEHREND 
Friday, September 10th | Penn State Behrend, 7 p.m.  
Saturday, September 11th | Gannon, 11 a.m. | Mercyhurst, 3 p.m. 
Erie, Pa. | Junker Center (Fri.) | Hallman Aquatics Center (Sat.) 

Video (PSU Behrend) | Video (Mercyhurst)

EMMITSBURG, Md. (September 9, 2021) – Following an 0-4 start at the Navy Invitational, Mount St. Mary's water polo travels to The Flagship City for three games with schools from Erie, Pennsylvania.  

MOUNT UPDATE

The Mount got a rude welcome as they transitioned to a majority Division 1 schedule for their second year. At Navy, the team drew a pair of Top 20 teams on the first day, falling to Princeton and UC Davis. The second day was even more heartbreaking as the Mountaineers lost both games by one goal to Salem and Iona. 

Jason O'Donnell led the Mount with 16 goals, converting more than half his attempts and registering a hat trick in each game. Freshman Nicholas Wallace-Whitfield earned five assists to pace the team in that category. Goalkeeper Marko Kruska rejected 46 shots, including 15 in the contest with Salem. 

This weekend marks a homecoming for the coaching staff. Alyssa Diacono came to Emmitsburg from Erie, where she was a graduate assistant at Mercyhurst. Justin Vink is an alumnus of Penn State Behrend, competing for the water polo and graduating in 2015. 

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS 

Penn State Behrend makes their home debut against the Mount, after dropping a game with Washington & Jefferson on September 4th. Ryan Kenney led the Lions with four goals in the 19-8 defeat. Behrend played in one tournament last year, going 0-3, and were 7-14 during their last full season in 2019. 

Gannon is off to a 1-3 start following a challenging schedule made up largely of Division 1 opponents. They defeated Austin College in their opener before dropping bouts with St. Francis Brooklyn, Santa Clara and Brown. The Golden Knights went 7-2 a year ago backed by 33 points by Tony Squeglia, who returned for his redshirt senior campaign. 

Mercyhurst also had a tough start in terms of opponents, dropping four games to New England squads in an invitational hosted by Brown. This campaign is a somber one for the Lakers, competing without the guidance of their 20-year head coach Curtis Robinette, who passed away earlier this summer. 

ALL-TIME SERIES

Gannon was the Mount's first-ever opponent, and Mercyhurst also challenged the squad in their inaugural year. The Golden Knights won all three contests over the Mountaineers, while the Mount was triumphant in both games with the Lakers.

Friday marks the first-ever meeting with Penn State Behrend.  

UPCOMING SCHEDULE

Mount St. Mary's heads to the Bison Invite, hosted by Bucknell next weekend.