This past weekend, the Men’s Water Polo Team traveled to the University of Dayton for CWPA Great Lakes Conference play. On Saturday, the #12 nationally-ranked Irish first squared off against new conference member Ohio University. In a very physical, penalty-filled match, the Irish pulled away in the closing minutes, downing the Bobcats 10-7. Senior captain Jon Kelly inspired the team with a very hard-fought, intimidating defensive performance. Captain Patrick Connors led the Irish in scoring with three goals, while captain Stephen Shepard, junior Colin Dunn, and sophomore Tom Fletcher also contributed goals for ND.

The afternoon game featured the Irish against their archrivals, defending national champion and 2nd ranked Grand Valley State, in the battle of the top two seeds. The Lakers jumped to an early advantage, capitalizing on some Irish miscues and carried a 3-2 lead into the second quarter. However, thanks to the long range shooting of Shepard and great movement by junior Khaw Zhan Wei, Notre Dame jumped in front 5-4 by the middle of the second. During this stretch, goalkeeper Dave Mazur pulled off some outstanding saves to keep the Irish moving ahead.

Unfortunately, turnovers and penalties were to be the team’s ultimate undoing, as some key second half mistakes led to the Irish falling behind, and never really recovering, losing 14-8.

In the final match of the evening, the Irish faced Ball State. In a game in which the Irish displayed the full extent of their depth, the men pulverized the Cardinals, winning 18-6. Sophomores Devin Fee, Joel Thielen, and Mike Mashura all played well in stepping up to fill the starters’ roles, by scoring and leading the Irish counterattack.

On Sunday, Notre Dame’s final match saw the club facing the host Flyers of Dayton. While the Irish got an early scare from a tenacious Dayton team playing in front of a home crowd, the Irish managed to dispose of the Flyers, 12-7. Freshman Craig Bentzen turned in a very dominant performance on the offensive end, netting several goals, while Dunn, Fletcher, Shepard, and Connors also tallied for the Irish. Mazur was solid once again, while senior George Heidkamp and freshman Sean Rooney came in and put in two great all-around efforts.

This upcoming weekend finds Notre Dame traveling to Miami (OH) for the Kyle McGarity Memorial Tourney, a twelve-team tournament in which nine of the teams are ranked nationally, including #1 Michigan State, #2 GVSU, #4 Arizona, and #10 Texas. The Irish are top-seeded in their bracket with #14 Miami (OH) and Indiana University.