The GW men’s water polo team stretched its losing streak to six games after dropping three games this weekend. The United States Air Force and the United States Naval Academy defeated GW Saturday, and John’s Hopkins University defeated the Colonials in Baltimore Friday. The losses dropped the Colonials record to 3-10 but does not affect the team’s chances at post-season play.
Head Coach Scott Reed said the string of losses has not “demoralized” the team because its most important tournaments begin in two weeks.
The Colonials will travel to Princeton University Oct. 19 for a tournament that will help determine their seeding position for the Southern Championships.
Following that tournament, the team will compete in the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Association tournament in Cambridge, Ma. The top four teams from that tournament qualify for Southerns.
The Colonials lost both games Saturday. In the morning, the team traveled to Annapolis, Md., where No. 17 Air Force defeated GW 10-5.
Reed said the Colonials were unable to find the net and score.
“We just didn’t take advantage of easy scoring opportunities,” he said.
Part of why the Colonials have struggled recently is a strategy other teams have taken to shut down GW sophomore Pat Dodge. By crashing around Dodge and ensuring that he is well covered, other players are left uncovered and given ample opportunity to score. Reed said they haven’t been scoring.
The Colonials tied the match 4-4 going into halftime, but Air Force scored six goals past GW goalkeeper sophomore Chris Blick in the second half.
Reed said his offense and defense played well this weekend, just not together. “They know, it’s just a matter of time (before they start clicking),” Reed said.
Navy defeated GW 11-6 at the Smith Center later in the day.
The Colonials’ weekend got off to a bad start with an 11-9 road loss at John’s Hopkins University Friday evening.
John’s Hopkins built on a 5-1 lead, while GW’s offense struggled to play aggressively. The Colonials went into halftime down 7-1. Senior Kevin Normal stepped up and scored three goals in part of an eight-goal surge. But it wasn’t enough as John’s Hopkins scored four more.
Normal led GW over the weekend with four goals. Reed said Blick averaged eight blocks a game in goal.
