EMMITSBURG, Md. (October 8, 2022) – Mount St. Mary's men's water polo took a split in their 2022 home opener. After suffering a comeback at the hands of #19 George Washington, the Mountaineers rallied for a 21-12 win over Johns Hopkins.
 
Earning 14 goals through the two games, Tommaso Baldineti completed 100 scores for the season with his fourth goal against JHU. He amassed the total in his 18^th contest for the Mount.
 
#19 George Washington 16, Mount St. Mary's 14
 
Team                 1    2    3    4
Mount St. Mary's     5    5    2    2
George Washington    2    6    6    2   
 
Goals: Baldineti 6, Bellesis 4, Valavanis 1, Thalos 1, Cieplik 1, Fischer 1
 
Saves: Maxson 12  
 
Racing out to a strong start, Baldineti recorded his hat trick by the end of the first period. Two of those strikes, along with a third from Alexandros Bellesis, built a 5-2 advantge. Bellesis added two more in the second to preserve the lead at half despite six Colonials scores.
 
Continuing to build the pressure, George Washington knotted the score at 11-11 with 3:49 left in the third on a penalty. Two late scores for the Colonials handed them a 14-12 lead into the final frame. Mount St. Mary's cut it to one, but the visitors held them off to remain undefeated in Mid-Atlantic Water Polo (MAWPC) play.
 
Mount St. Mary's 21, Johns Hopkins 12
 
Team                 1    2    3    4
Mount St. Mary's     4    4    8    5
Johns Hopkins        3    4    1    4
 
Goals: Baldineti 8, Valavanis 5, Bellesis 4, Horan 2, Thalos 2  
 
Saves: Maxson 12, Hosni 5  
 
The evening matchup was tight early on, despite the Mount defense keeping the Blue Jays at bay for the first four and a half minutes. Johns Hopkins rallied to head to the second period 4-3, then registered the next pair to go ahead. Baldineti's 99^th goal leveled the score at 6-6, and his 100^th put them ahead 8-7.
 
That mark concluded the first half, and though no one knew it at the time, marked the final lead change of the contest. The third quarter was the dagger as the Mountaineers rolled 8-1 across eight minutes. Chrysostomos Valavanis, after not scoring in the first half, came alive with a hat trick's worth in the period alone. He and Baldineti put the finishing touches late as the Mount added five more tallies in the fourth.
 
With the split, the Mount's record stands at 12-7 (5-4 MAWPC).
 
Bucknell and Navy arrive in Emmitsburg next Saturday (Oct. 15) for more MAWPC games. The Bison are first at 3:30 p.m. followed by the Midshipmen at 7 p.m. that evening.