O'FALLON, Ill. - The Concordia University Irvine men's water polo team overcame the 2023 WWPA Men's Championship Quarterfinals with an impressive lead. Concordia was named the number two seed in the East and their first opponent, Gannon, was named third seed in the West. CUI entered the tournament with a 10-16 record, while Gannon came with a 10-9 record. Concordia has faced Gannon many times before. CUI defeated the Golden Knights in 2009 and 2011.  

The stakes were high for the first match of the championship. The winner of the match moves forward to face Salem Saturday morning, while the loser returns Friday at 4 p.m. to face the loser of the Fresno Pacific vs McKendree match. 

After winning the jump ball, Concordia sent a few shots to the cage, but Gannon took the first goal of the match. Leo Erickson saw the opportunity and fired a shot to the goal to get Concordia on the board. In record time, team captain Jacob Stuart scored a penalty shot and Sam Diamond tied the score 3-3 with an assist from Stan De Mey. Utility player Harry Bentham scored the last CUI goal in the first period. 

The Golden Eagles effectively spread out the offense to jump forward in the match. Erickson, Bentham, and Oscar Garcia Blomback swept past the Golden Knights defense and contributed to the lead. Jacob Stuart, the lead CUI scorer of the match, made two back-to-back goals for CUI followed by another shot from Luke Addington, making it CUI 13, GAN 8. 

In the final period, Stuart and Blomback secured the lead with two more goals for the Golden Eagles. Gannon shortened the gap with a few more points of their own, but didn't get past the Concordia defense to close the gap. The Green and the Gold won with a final score of 15-12. 

Saturday brings on new competition. The Golden Eagles will face Salem in the Semifinals Nov. 18, Saturday morning at 9 a.m.  

CLICK HERE for the full men's water polo schedule.