LOS ANGELES, Calif. - The Concordia University men's water polo team went toe to toe with the No. 15 Loyola Marymount Lions at the Burns Aquatic Center. The mid-week game prepared the Golden Eagles for their upcoming tournament, the Titan Invite, which will be held in Fullerton, Calif. After battling to close the gap, Concordia lost the match, 10-15.
Concordia's offense was led by Jacob Stuart and Kai Young who both scored two goals for the Golden Eagles. Many other players, such as Harry Bentham and Lucas Rodriguez, stepped up to add points to the board, but LMU was consistent with their attacks. Goalie Griffin Beth recorded five saves against the Lion's persistent offense, giving the Golden Eagles a chance to come back.
At the start of the match, Stan De Mey won the sprint to get the Concordia offense going. With only 15 seconds passing, Luke Addington scored the first Powerplay goal of the night thanks to Harry Bentham. Soon after, Carlos Olat got in on the action with a goal of his own. The assist came from graduate student Konstantinos Koulouris. Koulouris didn't stop there. Seizing the opportunity, Koulouris sent the ball in Kai Young's direction to seal the third Concordia goal.
LMU had a big lead over the Golden Eagles, but Concordia continued to rally. Stan De Mey and Harry Bentham found the back of the cage at the start of the second. With a minute remaining in the second, Jacob Stuart scored a crucial penalty shot, making it CUI 6 LMU 10.
In the third, Jacob Stuart scored another penalty goal to keep the momentum moving. Junior Kai Young snuck his way through the defense to score a goal for Concordia, shrinking the gap. The Green and the Gold only allowed four goals in the period.
Defense was strong on both teams in the fourth. Keeping the Lions to a single goal, Concordia outscored them with two of their own. With two minutes remaining, Lucas Rodriguez scored on a powerplay with help from Sam Diamond. Thomas Kelly followed suit and scored the final CUI goal before the clock ran out. The final score was CUI 10 – LMU 15.
Coming out of this game, senior attacker Jacob Stuart is a few assists away from breaking the school record for most Recorded Assists in a career. He now stands at 53, while the record is held by Austin Wade with 55 assists. Harry Bentham is also a single goal away from hitting his 100 career-goal milestone. The junior hit his 99th in the second period of the match.
With exciting milestones on the horizon, the Golden Eagles are on the hunt for a win. Concordia heads into the Titan Invite on Friday, Sept. 13 and Saturday, Sept. 14. The first opponents of the tournament will be Air Force at 12:30 p.m. and Cal Lutheran at 4:30 p.m.
To see the FULL Concordia men's water polo team schedule, CLICK HERE.
