After earning four wins in the first Missouri Valley Division weekend two weeks earlier, men's water polo swept through the second conference crossover September 30 and October 1 at the Simon Rec Center in St. Louis, Missouri.
The Lions played two games on Saturday and earned two impressive victories, stopping Saint Louis University 31-3 and Missouri S & T 20-2. On Sunday, Lindenwood faced Washington University, the three-time Division III National Champions. After a close opening quarter highlighted more by defense than offense, the Lions led 4-2, but Lindenwood pulled away from there to finish with a 21-9 win. The Lions picked up a second victory for the day by forfeit.
Despite playing just two of three games, Toni Storic still led Lindenwood with 12 goals. Nikola Nasev scored 10 times in a pair of games, while Jamie Gambin had nine markers over three contests. Mitch Griffin was close behind with eight and another eight Lions were able to get into the scoring ledger over the weekend. Jacob Jagodzinski had eight assists to lead Lindenwood in that category, followed closely by Lachlan Mackenzie and Nikola Vukic with seven. Vukic also led the team in steals with eight, while Alex Cukic and Nasev each had seven.
Three goalkeepers shared playing duties with Samuel Beckwith making the most saves with 15. Lance Clark had 10 rejections while Jarod Lawson stopped four shots.
With the victories, the Lions improved to 15-1 overall and 8-0 in conference play, giving them the No. 1 seed in the conference championship in two weeks. They'll be seeking their sixth straight Missouri Valley Division crown when they host the event at the St. Peters Rec-Plex October 14-15 in St. Peters, Missouri. Lindenwood will get a nice tune-up with three west coast games October 5-7. The Lions face UCLA at 9 p.m. Thursday in Los Angeles, San Diego Mesa College at 5 p.m. Friday in San Diego, and Cal Poly on Saturday in San Luis Obispo at a time yet to be determined.
Lindenwood Player Stat Summary-September 30 and October 1
| Player |
Goals |
Assists |
Steals |
Games Played |
| Nikola Nasev |
10 |
3 |
7 |
2 |
| Andres Miranda |
3 |
3 |
1 |
3 |
| Toni Storic |
12 |
4 |
4 |
2 |
| Alex Cukic |
2 |
3 |
7 |
3 |
| Scott Kelly |
3 |
0 |
3 |
3 |
| Jacob Jagodzinski |
6 |
8 |
4 |
3 |
| Lachlan Mackenzie |
6 |
7 |
4 |
3 |
| Jamie Gambin |
9 |
4 |
1 |
3 |
| Jarod Lawson |
6 |
1 |
5 |
3 |
| Mitch Griffin |
8 |
6 |
4 |
3 |
| Nikola Vukic |
5 |
7 |
8 |
3 |
| Lance Clark |
3 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
Goal Keeper Stats
|
Saves |
Assists |
Steals |
|
| Lance Clark |
10 |
0 |
2 |
|
| Samuel Beckwith |
15 |
6 |
1 |
|
| Jarod Lawson |
4 |
0 |
0 |
|
