Men’s water polo defeated Wagner Sunday afternoon to win its first conference championship in program history.

The No. 2 seeded Colonials (17-11) defeated the No. 4 seeded Seahawks (14-17) 8–5 in Annapolis, Md. to secure the MAWPC title behind three goals from sophomore utility player Atakan Destici.

The Colonials scored five unanswered goals in the first quarter and led 6–4 at the half. Both GW goaltenders made 10 saves on the afternoon and the Colonials did not allow Wagner to score in the final quarter.

Sophomore center Andrew Mavis, who scored 10 goals in the tournament, was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. And freshman utility player Andras Levai, who tallied 11 goals and five assists on the weekend, was named Rookie of the Tournament.

In order to make it to Sunday’s matchup, GW picked up two close victories earlier in the tournament. The Colonials defeated Gannon 10–7 in the quarterfinal Friday after leading by only one goal in the fourth quarter. Six different Colonials scored during the game and eight picked up at least one steal.

GW then bested Fordham 16–15 in overtime in the semifinal game Saturday after Mavis scored the game-winning goal with just five seconds remaining. The Colonials trailed the Rams by five goals in the second half, but scored six of the next seven goals to tie up the contest.

The Colonials have now reached the final game of the MAWPC tournament for two consecutive years – the only two years they have been in the conference. They fell to Bucknell by six goals in the last game of 2016.

Wagner defeated Bucknell – this year’s No. 1 seed – in the semifinal of the conference tournament Saturday.

The Colonials are the second GW team to win a conference championship after sailing won the Middle Atlantic Intercollegiate Sailing Association women’s fall dinghy in October.

The Colonials now advance to the NCAA tournament to conclude their season.