Water polo splits last two matches of regular season

It was a mixed weekend for the Colonials, who finished CWPA Southern Division play Saturday with a 15-8 loss at Navy, but wrapped up their regular season with a 10-4 win over Salem International later that day.

The weekend puts GW at 10-16 overall, finishing in fourth place in the Southern Division. The Colonials now wait seeding for the CWPA Southern Division Championship.

In its first match Saturday, GW trailed Navy by a single goal at the end of the first quarter. But the Midshipmen used an offensive salvo to pull ahead, earning an 11-3 advantage by outscoring the Colonials 9-2 over the next two periods. GW pushed back, scoring four goals in the fourth quarter but Navy answered with five of its own for a 15-8 final score.

Junior goalkeeper Cameron Illes made eight saves on the loss, while freshman Ridvan Pehlivan and sophomore Nate Little paced GW’s offense with two goals each. The Colonials struggled to make up for roster gaps, with sophomore starter Daniel Tyner missing his seventh straight game due to injury, and junior starter Guy Helman, who was sidelined due to illness.

Later Saturday, the Colonials took the pool against Salem International, posting a 10-4 victory on their final match of the 2011 regular season. GW was determined to make a statement in its final game, netting eight goals in the first quarter. Leading 8-2 after eight minutes, the Colonials traded goals with SIU in the third and fourth periods en route to their six-goal victory.

Junior goalkeeper Sean Joyce took over for Illes in net, making six saves on the victory. Freshman Nick Scherma led the Colonials offensively, earning four goals, an assist, four steals and two field blocks. Freshmen Rafi Castillo and Matthew Williams each netted two goals, and freshmen Benjamin Krigel and Lance Leung added in a goal apiece.

Cross country places 13th at A-10 championships

Both the men’s and women’s squads finished 13th of 14 teams at the Atlantic 10 Championships this weekend.

Junior Julia Weir was the first across the line for the women’s team, finishing in 64th place of 128 runners. Weir ran the 5,000-meter course in 19:05, improving on her 2010 A-10 Championship time by 85 seconds. Junior Heather Stevens was next, finishing in 19:56 (102nd) and freshman Paige Peltan rounded out GW’s top three in 20:33 (114th).

In his first time competing at the A-10 championship, sophomore Jackson Carnes was the first across for the men’s squad. He ran the 8,000-meter course with a time of 26:15, finishing in 62nd place of 124 runners. Sophomore Marco Siragusa was the next across for GW, ending in 106th place with a time of 27:42, followed by freshman Tyler Gillies, who ended in 109th place with a time of 27:48.

The cross country teams next compete in the Cavalier Open in Charlottesville, Va., Oct. 4.

Number Crunch: 2

The number of victories needed for men’s soccer head coach George Lidster to earn 200 career wins. Lidster will retire following the 2011 season.