Gannon Stops Penn State Behrend 25-12 in CWPA Southern Division-West Region Action

ERIE, Pa. -- The Gannon men's water polo team used a 5-0 blitz midway through the second quarter and rolled past Penn State Behrend Friday evening in the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) opener for both squads at the Carneval Athletic Pavilion. In the process, the Golden Knights remained undefeated in 19 all-time matches against the Lions.

Penn State Behrend initially took a 2-1 lead 2:45 into the match, but Gannon responded by ending the first quarter on a 4-1 run. Greg Naranjo (Coral Springs, Fla./Stoneman Douglas) snapped a 3-3 tie with 37 seconds left and John Krakowski's (Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep) goal with 10 seconds left in the quarter sent the Golden Knights into the second period with a 5-3 edge.

The visitors continued to hang with the Golden Knights and trailed 6-4 when Gannon made its decisive run. Five straight scores put Gannon in front 11-4 with 3:11 remaining in the half. A pair of goals by both Naranjo and Greg Nelson (Homewood, Ill./Homewood-Flossmoor) sandwiched a Dmitriy Simonoff (Vernon Hills, Ill/Stevenson) score during the blitz.

The two squads split the final four goals of the half as Gannon went to the break with a 13-6 advantage. Both programs played even in the third quarter with five goals each, before Gannon iced the victory by out-scoring Penn State Behrend 7-1 in the final eight minutes.

Krakowski, Nelson, and Naranjo led the offensive onslaught with four goals each. Simonoff and Rob Bullion (Tonawanda, N.Y./Kenmore East) added hat tricks. Michael Piper (Houston, Texas/Clear Lake) found the back of the net twice.

Ben Syme (Victoria, B.C./Claremont Secondary), Stephen Espinet (Port of Spain, Trinidad/Maple Leaf), David Landry (Huntingdon, Pa./Huntingdon Area), Phil Myrick (Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep) and Kenny Milburn (Camp Hill, Pa./Cumberland Valley) completed the 11-player scoring attack with one goal each. Neal Zoellick (Homewood, Ill./Homewood-Flossmoor) recorded 12 saves between the pipes.

Gannon improved to 3-4 overall and 1-0 in the CWPA. Penn State Behrend remained winless at 0-5 overall and 0-1 in conference action.

Gannon Men's Water Polo Box Score
Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Match
Friday, September 18, 2009

Team (1st - 2nd - 3rd - 4th - Final)
Penn State Behrend (3 - 3 - 5 - 1 - 12)
Gannon (5 - 8 - 5 - 7 - 25)

Gannon Goals (25)
John Krakowski (4)
Greg Nelson (4)
Greg Naranjo (4)
Rob Bullion (3)
Dmitriy Simonoff (3)
Michael Piper (2)
Ben Syme (1)
Stephen Espinet (1)
David Landry (1)
Phil Myrick (1)
Kenny Milburn (1)

Gannon Goalkeeper
Neal Zoellick - 12 saves

Penn State Behrend (12)
Colin McGarry (5)
Ali Kahn (3)
Nick Loukides (2)
Chris Graves (2)

Records
Penn State Behrend (0-5 overall, 0-1 CWPA)
Gannon (3-4 overall, 1-0 CWPA)

Release courtesy Gannon Athletic Communications