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14U COED

Brooklyn Scores Five in the Fourth Quarter to Stun North Penn, 14-13, & Clinch 14U Coed Bracket B at 2021 National State Challenge

LANSDALE, Pa. — Brooklyn overcame an 11-9 deficit at the conclusion of the third quarter to outscore host North Penn by a 5-2 count in the fourth quarter in claiming a 14-13 victory in 14U Coed competition to start Day 3 of the 2021 American Water Polo (AWP) National State Challenge at North Penn High School.

Courtesy the win – combined with a previous 20-0 defeat of Pittsburgh on Friday, July 9 – Brooklyn claims the Bracket B crown and will face the runner-up in Bracket A (Y Pro or New Trier) at 4:00 p.m. later today in the tournament semifinals at North Penn.

The loss drops North Penn to 1-1, as the team previously claimed a 15-6 defeat of Pittsburgh on July 9, as the hosts will take on Bracket A champion Maverick – which upended Y Pro (15-7 W) and New Trier (14-11 W) – at 3:00 p.m. in the other semifinal at home.

The game was a close affair from the opening whistle to the closing horn as the two teams traded scoring blows.

Elias Panachyda opened the game’s scoring by putting away a man-up chance with 6:19 left in the first quarter to stake North Penn to the early lead.  Following back-to-back penalties against Brooklyn which North Penn was unable to cash in on, the home pushed ahead 2-0 as Emily Pironti (4:38) hammered in a strike.

Brooklyn rallied back, however, as Noah Castillo (3:54, 2:55) swished back-to-back opportunities to knot the score at two-all.  Castillo struck again at 1:52 by converting a man-up chance to provide Brooklyn a 3-2 lead, but consecutive heaves by Carter Stoudt (1:23) and William Weir (16 seconds) turned the tables to hand North Penn a 4-3 margin after one quarter of action.

The lead grew to a pair 12 seconds into the second quarter as Mason DiMauro (6:48) lined in a shot.  Castillo continued his one-man assault by flushing his fourth goal with 5:00 until halftime to inch Brooklyn back to within one at 5-4.

DiMauro (4:13) returned the margin to a pair at 6-4, but back-to-back-to-back tallies by Brooklyn at 4:02, 2:31 and 2:16 – capped off by a score from Meghan Elias – regained the lead for Brooklyn at 7-6.  The teams would go into halftime knotted at seven-all, however, as DiMauro delivered the equalizer with 17 seconds left.

The second half continued the back-and-forth nature from the opening two quarters of action as Pironti floated in a shot at 6:01 to provide North Penn an 8-7 margin.  The lead held up until Elias (3:51) and Castillo (3:34) rifled in back-to-back scores to give Brooklyn the edge at 9-8.

The goals marked the final tallies of the frame for Brooklyn as North Penn found the back of the cage at 2:33, 1:33 and four seconds to go out in front at 11-9.

In the fourth quarter, Brooklyn chipped a score off its deficit with 6:35 on the clock, but DiMauro (5:42) delivered a response to keep the New York borough contingent at bay and down 12-10.

Castillo then took command as he cashed in on a penalty shot (3:13) prior to swishing natural markers at 2:19 and 1:37 to push his team back into the lead at 13-12.

North Penn was not done, however, as DiMauro knotted the score at 13-all with 50 ticks remaining prior to Brooklyn collecting the game-winner at the 23 seconds mark to escape with the win.

Castillo led all scorers with eight goals to pick-up Player of the Game laurels, while DiMauro keyed the North Penn attack with six strikes.

New Trier Handles Y Pro, 17-9, to Finish Second in 14U Coed Bracket A at 2021 National State Challenge

LANSDALE, Pa. — Holden Hiebeler converted on five shots to lead eight New Trier scorers as the team tripped Y Pro, 17-9, to claim second place in Bracket A of 14U Coed competition at the 2021 American Water Polo (AWP) National State Challenge.

Competing at North Penn High School, New Trier downed Y Pro to conclude bracket play with a 1-1 mark following an earlier 14-11 loss to Maverick on Friday, July 9.  Due to the win, New Trier will next be in action at 4:00 p.m. this afternoon in a semifinal game back at North Penn against Bracket B champion Brooklyn – which handled Pittsburgh (20-0 W) and North Penn (14-13 W).

New Trier finishes 0-2 in Bracket A – including a 15-7 loss to Maverick on July 9 – and will take on Pittsburgh – which finished third in Bracket B with losses to Brooklyn (20-0 L) and North Penn (15-6 L) – in a pair of games to decide Fifth Place in the final six-team tournament standings.  The teams will meet first at 2:00 p.m. later today prior to clashing again at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday, July 11  Both New Trier-Pittsburgh games will occur at Wissahickon High School in Ambler, Pa.

The key to the victory for New Trier over Y Pro was a strong start and a dominating second half.  Leading 3-1 at the conclusion of the first quarter and 6-5 by halftime, New Trier outscored Y Pro 5-1 and 6-3 in the third and fourth quarters, respectively, to pull away for an eight goal victory.

Caden Adrianopoli (three), Marie Mohr (three), Bella Rouse (two), Pippa Spaan (one), Elizabeth Kelly (one), Ethan Kim (one) and Rafi Naftali (one) joined Adrianopoli in the scoring column for New Trier.

Simon Shalumov led the way for Y Pro with a hat-trick (three goals).  Ethan Sanadze chipped in a pair, while Nathaniel Cohen, Daniel Podolski, Max Sharov and Zurab Kuntchulia each registered solo markers.

Y Pro Takes First Half of 14U Coed Fifth Place Series Versus Pittsburgh, 11-6, at 2021 National State Challenge

AMBLER, Pa. — Goalkeeper Daniel Podolski turned away six shots as Y Pro picked up an 11-6 win versus Pittsburgh in the first of two games to decide Fifth Place in the 14U Coed bracket at the 2021 American Water Polo (AWP) National State Challenge.

Y Pro is now in the driver’s seat to claim Fifth Place in the six-team field as the squad holds a 1-0 advantage in the series versus Pittsburgh.  The two teams will meet again at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday, July 11, back at Wissahickon High School.  Another Y Pro victory gives the team Fifth Place outright.  However, a Pittsburgh victory complicates the scenario.  If Pittsburgh wins by six goals, then Pittsburgh is Fifth Place.  A win by five goals or less makes Y Pro the Fifth Place team irregardless of Pittsburgh’s victory.

For Y Pro, Simon Shalumov and Zurab Kuntchulia led the way with hat-tricks (three goals).  Ethan Sanadze added a pair with Ethan Lyubronetsky, Luka Gobronidze and Leon Bolkhovskiy each notching solo markers.

Michael Stefanko made five saves in taking the loss for Pittsburgh.

Maverick Manages North Penn, 18-12, in Semifinals to Reach 2021 National State Challenge 14U Coed Title Game

LANSDALE, Pa. —  Player of the Game Owen Sherry scored six times for the deciding factor as Maverick built leads of 7-1, 10-4 and 15-4 by the conclusion of the first, second and third quarters, respectively, to overwhelm North Penn, 18-12, in the semifinals of the 14U Coed bracket at the 2021 American Water Polo (AWP) National State Challenge.

The win advances Maverick to a 1:00 p.m. title game showdown on Sunday, July 11, versus the victor of a semifinal pitting Brooklyn versus New Trier.  North Penn will face the fallen from the Brooklyn-New Trier game at Noon on July 11 for Third Place.

Maverick never trailed in the game by opening up a 4-0 lead by the 4:54 mark of the first quarter prior to exiting the opening frame with a 7-1 margin on the scoreboard.  Both teams traded three goals in the third quarter to make it 10-4 by halftime, but Maverick pulled away in the third quarter via a 5-0 run to hold a 15-4 lead entering the fourth quarter.  North Penn closed the gap over the final seven minutes by outscoring Maverick by an 8-3 count.

Brooklyn Nets 13-8 Semifinal Win Versus New Trier in Making 2021 National State Challenge 14U Coed Title Game

LANSDALE, Pa. — Noah Castillo posted five goals as Brooklyn built a 7-4 halftime lead on the way to a 13-8 defeat of New Trier in the 14U Coed semifinals at the 2021 American Water Polo (AWP) National State Challenge.

Competing at North Penn High School, Brooklyn punched its ticket to a 1:00 p.m. clash on Sunday, July 11, versus Maverick for the 14U Coed crown.  Maverick earned its berth to the title tilt by turning back North Penn, 18-12.

New Trier, which will meet North Penn at Noon on July 11 in the Third Place game, fell behind early and could not recover against Brooklyn.

Castillo opened the scoring for the New Yorkers with 5:36 left in the first quarter before Stella Savone followed at 3:13 to make the score 2-0. 

Holden Hiebeler cut into the lead for New Trier with a strike at 2:57, but Meghan Elias returned Brooklyn’s two-goal lead prior to the conclusion of the opening seven minutes by hitting the netting with 19 seconds left.

Brooklyn took the momentum from Elias’ score and turned it into four more to commence the second quarter as James Baker Liz (5:41), Castillo (4:41), Isabel Gargamelli (4:14) and Elias (3:45) helped open up a 7-1 lead.

Hiebeler attempted to rally New Trier back by connecting on markers at 3:29, 3:08 and 2:06 to close the gap to 7-4 by halftime.

In the second half, Savone scored at 3:44 to make it 8-4.  Marie Mohr dented the twine at 2:09 for New Trier, but Castillo drilled in natural (1:51) and man-up (48 seconds) goals prior to Elias burying another chance with eight seconds left in the third quarter to make it 11-5.

The lead would hold up the rest of the way as New Trier was unable to move within less than five goals over the remainder of the game.

Caden Adrianopoli (6:46, man-up) inched New Trier within five at 11-6, but Cruz English (6:16) and Castillo (2:07) built the lead to 13-6.  Adrianopoli (1:11) and Hiebeler (47 seconds) wrapped up the scoring to once again shrink the margin to five at 13-8 prior to the final horn.

Hiebeler led New Trier with five goals.

Elias (three) and Savone (two) joined Castillo in posting multi-score games for Brooklyn.  English, Gargamelli and Baker Liz each contributed single markers.



18U GIRLS

North Penn Defends Home Water in Sinking New Trier, 12-10, in Girls’ 18U Competition at 2021 National State Challenge

LANSDALE, Pa. — Brenna Mancini and Paige Mitchell scored with under 3:30 to go in the fourth quarter to provide the difference as North Penn stopped New Trier, 12-10, in Girls’ 18U action on Day Three of the 2021 American Water Polo (AWP) National State Challenge.

Noth Penn improves to 1-3 in the tournament – following losses to Maverick (12-6 L), Ridge Raptors (11-7 L) and Wilson (10-9 L) – and will wrap-up its weekend competition at 3:00 p.m. later today versus CHIWPC at Wissahickon High School in Ambler, Pa.

New Trier – which now stands at 1-2 after downing CHIWPC (8-6 W) and falling to Maverick (10-3 L) prior to its showdown with North Penn – will take on Ridge Raptors at 4:00 p.m. later today prior to concluding its weekend at 10:00 a.m. on Sunday, July 11, versus Wilson.  Both games will take place at Wissahickon.

Tied at eight-all entering the fourth quarter, North Penn pulled ahead as Mitchell put away a five-meter penalty shot with 6:17 on the clock.  Olivia Chicchi added another penalty shot at 4:58 to build the lead to 10-8 prior to Mancini and Mitchell delivering the deciding factors at 3:26 (man-up) and 1:58 (even-strength), respectively, to acquire a 12-8 margin.

Carmen Crewe attempted to lead New Trier back by swishing shot at 1:42 and 21 seconds, but North Penn held on for a two-score victory.

Mitchell – who claimed Player of the Game recognition – led the way for North Penn with four goals.  Crewe finished with six goals for New Trier.

Maverick Defeats CHIWPC, 13-8, in Moving to 3-1 in Girls’ 18U Bracket at 2021 National State Challenge

AMBLER, Pa. — Maddie Johnson, Anna O’Malley, Abby Cooley and Anna Salamy each scored twice in support of a seven save effort by goalie Hazel Mullen as Maverick outscored CHIWPC 4-3, 3-2 and 3-0 in the second, third and fourth quarters to claim a 13-8 win in Girls’ 18U competition at the 2021 American Water Polo (AWP) National State Challenge.

Competing at Wissahickon High School, Maverick pulled away from CHIWPC to improve its record to 3-1 on the weekend following previous games versus North Penn (12-6 W), New Trier (10-3 W) and Ridge Raptors (15-4 L).  Maverick maintains a chance to reach the Girls’ 18U title game, but will likely need to defeat Wilson this evening at 5:00 p.m. to claim a spot in the First Place tilt on Sunday, July 11, at 2:00 p.m. in the North Penn High School pool.

CHIWPC falls to 0-3 as the team previously dropped games to Wilson (10-7 L) and New Trier (8-6 L) on Friday, July 9.  The squad will wrap-up its weekend at 3:00 p.m. later today versus North Penn prior to facing Ridge Raptors at 9:00 a.m. on Sunday, July 11.  Both games will occur at Wissahickon.

Bella McGowan accounted for three of CHIWPC’s goals in the defeat, while Ella Dunning, Lauren Valentin, Sammy Onweller, Ava Gibbs and Kiley Sill each scored once.

Wilson & Ridge Raptors Battle to 10-10 Tie in Girls’ 18U Bracket at 2021 National State Challenge

AMBLER, Pa. — Lea Preston made her final two games for Ridge Raptors count – eventually – as she scored with 5:19 and 4:38 left in the third quarter to give her team a two-goal lead which ultimately resulted in a 10-10 tie with Wilson in Day 3 Girls’ 18U competition at the 2021 American Water Polo (AWP) National State Challenge.

Preston – who earned Player of the Game status for notching a total of five goals to help Ridge Raptors remain undefeated following wins over North Penn (11-7 W) and Maverick (15-4 W) on Friday, July 9 – led an offense which received scoring from five athletes.  Adilyn Garges chipped in a pair, while the trio of Emily Myers, Allyson Ricciardi and Lauren Scott connected for solo markers.

Wilson – which also remains undefeated with prior games against CHIWPC (10-7 W) and North Penn (10-9 W) – received scoring from eight players led by Mikalya Arthur and Kaitlyn Gundersen with pairs.  Kayla Dietrich, Corey Beougher, Hailey Brigle, Avonlea Lechleitner, Morgan Valeriano and Maddy Nigrini each added single tallies in a back-and-forth game with potential ramifications on the title game slated for 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, July 11, at North Penn High School in Lansdale.

As the top two teams from the 18U Girls’ six-team round robin format make the title tilt, a repeat clash between Wilson and Ridge Raptors is a potential.  Through 10 games, CHIWPC stands at 0-2, New Trier is 1-2, North Penn rates at 1-3 and Maverick holds a 3-1 mark, leaving Wilson (2-0-1) and Ridge Raptors (2-0-1) as the only undefeated teams in the field.

Both teams have two games remaining until the title tilt as Wilson will face Maverick (5:00 p.m., Saturday, July 10) and New Trier (10:00 a.m., Sunday, July 11), with Ridge Raptors taking on New Trier (4:00 p.m., Saturday, July 10) and CHIWPC (9:00 a.m., Sunday, July 11).

The potentially first of two meetings between Wilson and Ridge Raptors was a back-and-forth affair from the opening sprint.

Preston and Ricciardi opened the scoring as the duo dropped in shots for Ridge Raptors with 5:59 and 2:52 left in the first quarter, respectively.  Wilson fired back as Beougher connected for a natural goal at 2:36 prior to Lechleitner putting away a penalty shot at 1:17 to tie the score at two-all.  Garges returned the lead to Ridge Raptors prior to the end of the opening frame by denting the twine with four seconds left.

Leading 3-2 after a quarter of action, Ridge Raptors expanded their margin to a pair 23 seconds into the second quarter as Myers lined in a shot (6:37) to make it 4-2.  Following responses by Dietrich (5:26) for Wilson and Preston (5:11) for the Raptors to flip the scoreboard to 5-3, back-to-back-to-back goals from Arthur (4:53), Gundersen (4:01) and Nigrini (3:01) put Wilson into the lead for the first time at 6-5.

Gundersen enlarged the margin to a pair at 2:13, but Garges kept her team in the contest by burying a feed with 2:02 until halftime to make it a 7-6 contest at the break.

The tables turned in the opening moments of the third quarter as Scott converted on a man-up opportunity (6:16) and Preston tossed in a natural strike (6:07) to provide Ridge Raptors an 8-7 lead.

Arthur evened the damage at eight-all with 5:59 on the clock, but Preson’s back-to-back scores at 5:19 and 4:38 made it 10-8 in favor of Ridge Raptors.

Wilson rallied back as Brigle (3:25) and Valeriano (2:58) tied the game at 10-all.

Neither team was able to solve the opposing defense for the remainder of the contest as the squads deadlocked at 10-all.  Per National State Challenge rules, there is no overtime during round robin play.  However, overtime is played to decide the championship.

North Penn Nips CHIWPC, 12-7, in Girls’ 18U Competition at 2021 National State Challenge

AMBLER, Pa. —  Paige Mitchell scored five times and goalkeeper Zoe Welsh turned aside five shots as North Penn tripped up CHIWPC, 12-7, in Girls’ 18U play at the 2021 American Water Polo (AWP) National State Challenge.

Competing at Wissahickon High School, North Penn concludes its weekend with a 2-3 record following prior games versus Maverick (12-6 L), Ridge Raptors (11-7 L), Wilson (10-9 L) and New Trier (12-10 W).  CHIWPC, which has a 9:00 a.m. game versus Ridge Raptors on Sunday, July 11, at Wissahickon remaining on its docket, is now 0-4 with previous clashes against Wilson (10-7 L), New Trier (8-6 L) and Maverick (13-19 L).

North Penn posted the eventual margin of victory in the first quarter as the team built a 5-0 lead. Both teams posted pairs of goals in the second and fourth quarters to sandwich a three-spot in the third quarter as CHIWPC was never able to overcome the early deficit.

Kiley Sill accounted for the majority of CHIWPC’s offense with five goals with Bella McGowan adding a pair.

Ridge Raptors Turn Back New Trier, 13-6, to Remain Undefeated in Girls’ 18U Play at 2021 National State Challenge

AMBLER, Pa. — Lea Preston contributed seven goals and the trio of Darragh Martin, Adilyn Garges and Allyson Ricciardi each scored twice as the Ridge Raptors remained undefeated in Girls’ 18U competition with a 13-6 win over New Trier in Wissahickon High School’s pool during Day 3 of the 2021 American Water Polo (AWP) National State Challenge.

The team now stands at 3-0-1 as the Raptors previously defeated North Penn (11-7 W) and Maverick (15-4 W) to go along with a 10-10 tie against Wilson.  New Trier drops to 1-3 with prior games against Maverick (10-3 L), CHIWPC (8-6 W) and North Penn (12-10 L).

Both teams will conclude round robin play on Sunday, July 11, at Wissahickon as Ridge Raptors face CHIWPC at 9:00 a.m. prior to New Trier meeting Wilson at 10:00 a.m.

Ridge Raptors jumped out to an early lead against New Trier as Garges (4;55), Preston (4:17) and Martin (3:17) hit the back of the cage to snag a 3-0 lead.  Claire Miller (2:19) broke-up the shutout, but Martin got the goal back with 45 seconds left in the first quarter to make it 4-1 after seven minutes.

In the second quarter, Annie Lewis (6:13) snagged a steal at 6:41 and cashed in on the ensuing possession to move New Trier back to within a pair at 4-2.  Ridge Raptors responded nearly three minutes later as Garges returned the lead to three at 5-2 with 3:35 on the clock, but Ashley Voss (3:11) and Miller (50 seconds) made it a one score game at 5-4 with back-to-back tallies.

Preston terminated New Trier’s run prior to the halftime horn by lining in shots with 35 and six seconds left in the second quarter to help construct a three-goal lead at 7-4 heading into the break.

Following intermission, Preston struck again at 6:42, but Miller delivered a counterstrike at 6:13 to return the spread to three at 8-5.

Preston (5:48, 1:10) and Ricciardi (2:44) closed out the third quarter with a trio of scores to widen the margin between the programs to 11-5 heading into the final seven minutes of regulation.

Trailing 12-5 after another goal by Preston with 3:06 to go in the contest, New Trier got back on the board via a volley by Olivia Cheney (2:55) to close the gap to six at 12-6.  Ricciardi wrapped up the scoring at 2:11 for the 13-6 final.

For New Trier, Miller (three), Cheney (one), Lewis (one) and Voss (one) each posted a point in support of a four save effort by goalkeeper Fiona Crewe.

On the other end of the tank, Ridge Raptors’ Katie Cuthbert (seven saves) and Hannah Keyser (one save) split time between the pipes.

Wilson Picks Up 15-4 Victory Over Maverick to Earn Spot in 2021 National State Challenge Girls’ 18U Title Game

AMBLER, Pa. — Goalkeeper Shannon Bella made a game-high 12 saves and Kaitlyn Gundersen netted four goals as Wilson claimed a 15-4 win over Maverick at Wissahickon HIgh School and established the Girls’ 18U Championship pairing at the 2021 American Water Polo (AWP) National State Challenge.

Due to the win, Wilson improves to 3-0-1 with prior games versus CHIWPC (10-7 W), North Penn (10-9 W) and Ridge Raptors (10-10 T), while Maverick concludes its weekend slate at 3-2 with previous contests against New Trier (10-3 W), Ridge Raptors (15-4 L), CHIWPC (13-8 W) and North Penn (12-6 W).

Further, RIdge Raptors stands at 3-0-1 with victories over North Penn (11-7 W), Maverick (15-4 W) and New Trier (13-6 W) to go along with a tie versus Wilson.

Although both Ridge Raptors (9:00 a.m. vs. CHIWPC) and WIlson (10:00 a.m. vs. New Trier) have remaining round robin games on Sunday, July 11, both teams have already locked up their spots in the 2:00 p.m. title game.  A loss by Ridge Raptors and/or Wilson will not impact the championship match-up as Maverick is the closest team to the pair and suffered head-to-head setbacks against both programs.  Further, both teams can finish with a record better than either Wilson or Ridge Raptors – as both will compete the round robin with marks of 3-1-1 in a worst case scenario.

Wilson put its game against Maverick out of reach early by racking up a 6-0 lead by the conclusion of the first quarter, building the margin to 8-1 by halftime and insulating its victory with a 7-3 outburst in the fourth quarter to pick up a nine-goal win.

For Wilson, Kayla Dietrich joined Gundersen in posting a hat-trick, while Hailey Brigle, Avonlea Lechleitner and Leah Eckert recorded pairs.  Lexie Gonzalez and Mikayla Arthur completed the offensive output with solo markers.

Maverick recieved single goals from Michaela Caldwell, Maddie Johnson, Anna O’Malley and Merrill Gadsden to go along with four saves by netminder Hazel Mullen.



18U BOYS

Swim RVA Turns Back New Trier, 16-10, to Start Boys’ 18U Day 3 Action at 2021 National State Challenge

LANSDALE, Pa. — Swim RVA used 5-2 and 6-2 scoring advantages in the first and third quarters, respectively, for all the difference it would need as the team downed New Trier, 16-10, at North Penn High School to start Boys’ 18U competition on Day 3 of the 2021 American Water Polo (AWP) National State Challenge.

Swim RVA – which now stands at 2-1 after previously defeating Brooklyn, 22-11, and suffering a 14-10 setback versus Wilson – received five goals from Mihailo Lemaic and three from both Petar Stjepanovic and Stefan Lacmanovic as the trio combined for 11 of the team’s 16 scores.  Brett Sill (two), Koji Wood (two) and Tyler Kannan (one) also found the back of the cage in the win.

New Trier falls to 0-3 on the weekend as the team dropped contests against North Penn (10-8 L) and Maverick (9-5 L) on Friday, July 9.  New Trier will conclude its weekend docket with a 5:00 p.m. clash with Brooklyn later today prior to meeting up with Wilson at 10:00 a.m. on Sunday, July 11.

Wilson Bests Brooklyn, 20-8, in Day 3 Boys’ 18U Competition at 2021 National State Challenge

LANSDALE, Pa. — Kagen Boettner scored eight times to earn Player of the Game recognition as Wilson dealt Brooklyn a 20-8 loss at North Penn High School in Boys’ 18U play on Day 3 of the 2021 American Water Polo (AWP) National State Challenge.

The win improves Wilson to 2-1 on the weekend as the team previously dropped a 10-7 game to North Penn on Thursday, July 8, prior to taking a 14-10 victory over Swim RVA on Friday, July 9.

Wilson led throughout the contest as the team outscored Brooklyn by counts of 9-6, 5-2, 4-0 and 2-0 in the first-to-fourth quarters, respectively, to pull away for a 12-goal victory.

Ben Gerhart added four goals for Wilson, while Chadd Corson and Toby Beogher connected for pairs as four athletes posted multi-score games.  Tommy Houck, Trentin Lechleitner, Isaiah Eberly and David Meinhold round out the scorers as the quartet each found the back netting once.

Brooklyn – which now stands at 0-3 with prior losses to Maverick (20-4 L) and Swim RVA (22-11 L) –  received four goals from Bryce AndersonLuke Pertz-Kelly chipped in a duo to accompany solo markers by Noah Castillo and Nicholas Chopliani.

Maverick Doubles North Penn, 12-6, to Remain Undefeated in Boys’ 18U Bracket at 2021 National State Challenge

LANSDALE, Pa. — Maverick built a 6-0 lead by the end of the first quarter and never looked back in rolling to a 12-6 win versus host North Penn to remain undefeated in Boys’ 18U competition on the third day of the 2021 American Water Polo (AWP) National State Challenge.

Maverick, which now stands at 3-0 following previous defeats of Brooklyn (20-4 W) and New Trier (9-5 W) on Friday, July 9, received six goals from Kristian StanczewskiGavin Brooke (three), Bram Schork (one), Mike Lemishko (one) and Nick Price (one) accounted for the remaining half of the dozen scores.

For North Penn, Robert Freece and Timothy Schwar both delivered pairs to accompany solo strikes by Andrew Davis and Nathaniel Rawa.

Maverick got off to a fast start in the first quarter as Stanczewski notched a hat-trick with back-to-back-to-back goals at 6:34, 4:59 and 4:27, prior to Brooke lining in a pair of goals at 3:46 and 1:16. Stanczewski closed out the opening seven minutes of competition by burying his fourth of the frame with 22 seconds left to provide Maverick a 6-0 lead.

Davis snapped Maverick’s run by opening the second quarter with a scoring shot (6:31), but Brooke (6:05) and Stanczewski (3:35) delivered answers to make it an 8-1 game at the midway point of the contest.

North Penn attempted to climb back into the game in the third quarter as Schwar cashed in on back-to-back man-up chances at 5:35 and 4:51 to move the homestanding squad to within five at 8-3.  Rawa trimmed the deficit further by a goal at 2:09 before Freece made it 8-5 with 26 seconds on the clock to cap off a 4-0 spurt by North Penn.

Stanczewski terminated the run 11 seconds following Freece’s marker by putting away another shot with 15 seconds remaining to return Maverick’s lead to four at 9-5.

Maverick put any doubts about the eventual outcome of the contest to rest as Schork (6:16), Lemishko (5:15) and Price (3:39) ticked off three consecutive goals to commence the fourth quarter and rebuild the lead to seven at 12-5 with under four minutes to play.

Freece closed out the game by depositing his second score of the game to establish the final margin of victory at six.

The loss drops North Penn to 2-1 as the team previously handled Wilson (10-7 W) on Friday, July 8, and New Trier (10-8 W) on Saturday, July 9.

New Trier Nicks Boys’ 18U Win Versus Brooklyn, 22-10, at 2021 National State Challenge

LANSDALE, Pa. — Diarmaid Halloran accounted for five goals to lead eight New Trier scorers as the team topped Brooklyn, 22-10, in Boys’ 18U round robin action on Day 3 at the 2021 American Water Polo (AWP) National State Challenge.

New Trier – which now stands at 1-3 on the weekend with previous games versus North Penn (10-8 L), Maverick (9-5 L) and Swim RVA (16-10 L) – outscored Brooklyn by counts of 6-3, 6-5, 7-2 and 3-0 in the first-to-fourth quarters, respectively, to claim its inaugural win and clinch at least Fifth Place in the final six-team standings.

Brooklyn, which received hat-tricks from Owen Randazzo and Elvis Vintimilla, falls to 0-4 following previous clashes with Maverick (20-4 L), Swim RVA (22-11 L) and Wilson (20-8 L).

North Penn Sinks Swim RVA, 11-8, for Boys’ 18U Victory at 2021 National State Challenge

LANSDALE, Pa. — Owen Fritz scored four times and Player of the Game Robert Freece connected for a pair in teh final five minutes of the fourth quarter as North Penn claimed an 11-8 win versus Swim RVA in Boys’ 18U action on Day 3 of the 2021 American Water Polo (AWP) National State Challenge.

Courtesy the win, North Penn improves to 3-1 on the weekend with prior match-ups versus Wilson (10-7 W), New Trier (10-8 W) and Maverick (12-6 L).  Due to standing at 3-1, North Penn is on the cusp of clinching a spot in the 18U Boys’ title game depending upon the outcome of the Wilson-Maverick game slated for 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, July 10.

Swim RVA jumped out to the early lead in the game as Peter Stjepanovic put away an even-strength chance at 5:53 of the first quarter.  It the first and only team Swim RVA led in the game as Fritz (3:21) and Andrew Davis (44 seconds) netted back-to-back scores to burn the momentum in favor of North Penn.

Thirty-two seconds into the second quarter Fritz struck again to build the lead to 3-1 with 6:28 remaining until halftime.  Following a response by Stjepanovic at 6:21 to inch Swim RVA back to within a goal at 3-2, Timothy Schwar (4:32) and Mason DiMauro (2:28) began to put the game out of reach by racking up back-to-back strikes to make it 5-2.  Swim RVA shrank its halftime deficit down to a pair prior to the horn as Brevin Bugausian dented the twine with 51 seconds on the clock to make it 5-3 at the midway point.

In the third quarter, Fritz (4:05) and Mihailo Lemaic (3:54) traded scoring blows to enlarge and shrink the lead from 6-3 to 6-4 before Davis (3:36) made it 7-4.

A penalty call against Fritz allowed Lemaic to convert a five-meter penalty shot at 2:54 to once again make it a two-goal game at 7-5, but Davis delivered at 2:04 to widen the gap back to three at 8-5.

The back-and-forth pattern of scoring continued for the remainder of the quarter as Bugausian (46 seconds) and Fritz (four seconds) punched in tallies to establish a 9-6 margin heading into the final seven minutes of regulation.

A man-up score by Stefan Lacmanovic at 6:38 followed by a natural goal by Brett Sill at 5:02 to make it 9-8 put Swim RVA on the doorstep of completing a comeback to tie the game.

However, Freece found his scoring touch in the final five minutes of the contest by putting away opportunities at 4:42 and 3:44 to insulate North Penn’s narrow lead and help hold off Swim RVA down the stretch for an 11-8 win.

For North Penn, Davis joined Fritz in posting hat-tricks, while Schwar and DiMauro both contributed single goals to go along with Freece’s pair.

Across the tank, Stjepanovic, Bugausian and Lemaic each posted two goals.  Lacmanovic and Sill accounted for the remainder of their team’s offense with single strikes.

Wilson Forces Three-Way Tie for 1st Place in Boys’ 18U Standings by Upending Maverick, 11-8, at 2021 National State Challenge

LANSDALE, Pa. — Ben Gerhart scored six times as Wilson outscored Maverick 9-6 in the second, third and fourth quarters to pick-up an 11-8 victory and force a three-way tie for First Place in the Boys’ 18U standings through three days of competition at the 2021 American Water Polo (AWP) National State Challenge.

The victory creates a three-way logjam for the top spot in the Boys’ 18U standings between Wilson, Maverick and North Penn which all stand at 3-1.

All three teams have one round-robin game to go on the morning of Sunday, July 11, as North Penn faces Brooklyn (9:00 a.m.), Wilson takes on New Trier (10:00 a.m.) and Maverick meets Swim RVA (11:00 a.m.).  Assuming the trio win their games, the tie between the teams will be broken by goal differential between the programs from their head-to-head meetings.

Among games between the three, North Penn holds a -3 differential based on a 12-6 loss to Maverick and a 10-7 win versus Wilson.  Maverick holds a +3 differential via a 12-6 defeat of North Penn and its 11-8 loss to Wilson.  Finally, Wilson is even as the team dropped a 10-7 game to Wilson, but stopped Maverick 11-8. 

If the three teams wrap up their dockets with identical 4-1 records, Maverick will claim the No. 1 spot in the title game set for 3:00 p.m. on July 11 based on goal differential in games among the three teams.  Once the three-way tie is broken, the tiebreaker reverts to head-to-head with North Penn winning the other title game spot due to it 10-7 win over Wilson.

The situation becomes more complicated if two of the teams were to lose in their final showdowns on Sunday morning.  

If only one of the teams lose, the other two automatically advance to the title game. 

But, if North Penn and Wilson/North Penn and Maverick/Wilson and Maverick both lose, the situation becomes slightly more complex:

  • North Penn and Wilson lose, Maverick wins: Maverick claims the No. 1 position, while North Penn earns the No. 2 spot based on its head-to-head win versus Wilson.  Wilson finishes third and Swim RVA places fourth.
  • North Penn and Maverick both lose, Wilson wins: Wilson claims the No. 1 position and Maverick takes the No. 2 spot based on its head-to-head win versus North Penn. Third and fourth place are dependent upon the games to be played.
  • Wilson and Maverick both lose, North Penn wins: North Penn claims the No. 1 position and Wilson takes the No. 2 spot based on its head-to-head win versus Maverick. Third and fourth place are dependent upon the games to be played.
  • All three teams lose: Same scenario as if they all win (Maverick is No. 1, North Penn is No. 2)

The Wilson-Maverick game was a close affair throughout as neither team was able to acquire a dominating foothold until a 4-1 scoring advantage in the third quarter gave Wilson some breathing room.

Maverick jumped on the scoreboard first in the contest as Kristian Stanczewski tossed in the ice-breaker 40 seconds into the first quarter (6:20).  The lead last for nine seconds until Chadd Corson (6:11) evened the score.  Gerhart (5:32) pushed Wilson ahead at 2-1, but Bram Schork wrapped up the opening frame with a strike at the 18 seconds mark to deadlock the squads at two-all.

The momentum began to shift midway through the second quarter as Kagen Boettner (3:26) and Corson (2:12, man-up) provided Wilson with a 4-2 margin.  Stanczewski chipped a goal off his squad’s deficit 1:59 prior to halftime as the teams headed to their benches with Wilson ahead 4-3 through 14 minutes of action.

From there, Gerhart took command of the game in the third quarter by ripping in four consecutive scores at 4:57, 4:21, 3:21 and 1:39 (penalty shot) to balloon Wilson’s lead to 8-3.  Nick Price (12 seconds) sliced the lead back to four prior to the conclusion of the quarter as the teams headed to the final seven minutes of competition with Wilson holding an 8-4 margin.

The teams traded goals throughout the early going in the fourth quarter as Boettner (6:14) and Gerhart (3:56) delivered for Wilson, while Gavin Brooke (4:33, 3:03) answered for Maverick to set the scoreboard at 10-6 with time winding down.

Wilson’s Isaiah Eberly (2:48) and Maverick’s Zach Yardley (2:23) continued the back-and-forth pattern for an 11-7 differential.  Danny Crump (59 seconds) shrank the final gap down to three at 11-8 as Wilson escaped with the win.

For Wilson, Boettner and Corson both scored twice with Eberly notching a solo tally.

Maverick received pairs of goals form Stanczewski and Brooke with Crump, Schork and Yardley all depositing single markers.