The men's water polo team continued its undefeated start to the inaugural home campaign at the Katherine Moran Coleman Aquatics Center, defeating Connecticut College (1-6) 15-7 and St. Francis (6-4) 14-9 this weekend.
The Bears (15-2) had little trouble against the Camels on Friday. Captain Svetozar Stefanovic '13 scored the most for Bruno with five goals and one steal. James McNamara '14 turned in a similarly strong performance with four goals, three assists and three steals. The Bears established themselves early in the game and remained in control until the final buzzer.
The team was able to "practice different line-ups and perfect our team defense" against Connecticut College, McNamara said.
The Saturday game against St. Francis proved to be a closer competition. The Bears and the Terriers took turns holding the lead for the first three quarters, with the Bears outscoring the Terriers late in the game and entering the fourth on top, 11-9. The intense final quarter saw players from both squads exchanging goals, until the teams were tied 13-13 heading into the final minute. Surrounded by Terriers, Stefanovic scored the winning goal with a backwards throw with 42 seconds left on the clock.
But as most of the crowd dispersed with victory seemingly guaranteed, the St. Francis head coach filed an official protest for a misapplication of the rules in the third quarter. The protest then resulted in a replaying of the game from the midway point in the third quarter. The Bears finished play in the absence of McNamara, the team's third-leading scorer, who was injured on the original protested play.
Unfazed, the Bears outscored the Terriers 6-1 in the new half, leading to the official winning score of 14-9.
"The protest was not typical," McNamara said. "Replaying the second half was stressful after we thought we had won. But it all worked out, and it's a big league win for us."
The Bears' defense also remained strong, with Walker Shockley '14 saving 12 shot attempts.
"As frustrating as it was, we proved once again that we are a team with a big heart," Stefanovic said. "Only great teams have this kind of group strength to improve towards the end of the game and be victorious."
The Bears are now preparing to face Iona and Fordham in New York next weekend.
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