Behrend Men’s Water Polo Travels To California for MPSF Championships

BERKELEY, Calif. – The Penn State Behrend men's water polo team travels to Berkeley, CA to compete in the 2023 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Men's Water Polo Championships hosted by California on November 17-19. The Lions will matchup with the hosts in the first round on Friday at 1:00 p.m. PST/4:00 p.m. EST.

Participating Teams

* Augustana, Austin, California, Penn State Behrend, USC, Stanford, UCLA, and Washington & Jefferson

Schedule/Coverage:

Video | Live Stats

Behrend News & Notes:

* The Lions dropped their final two regular-season contests against Gannon (24-17) and Mercyhurst (12-11) this past weekend
* In the first match, Eli Anderson (Encinitas, CA/San Dieguito) scored a team-high five goals, while Eugene Kruger (Pleasanton, CA/Foothill) found the back of the net four times vs. the Golden Knights
* In the second match, Behrend took an 8-7 lead going in to the third period, but four Mercyhurst goals in the final period gave the Lakers a one-score victory
* Anderson once again led the team in goals (four), while Ryan Carpico (Skippack, PA/Perkiomen) and  Chase Cordon (Canyon Lake, CA/Temescal Canyon) each tallied two scores
* In net, Ethan Friedman (Valley Center, CA/Valley Center) (nine saves) and Leyton Vrono (Murrieta, CA/Murrieta Valley) (one save) split time
* Friedman leads the team with 235 saves and a save-percentage of 50%, while Jack Holl (Greenwich, CT/Greenwich) has a team-high 47 goals scored
* On the defensive side, Anderson has recorded 41 steals this season
* Kruger has dished out 50 assists and registered 24 drawn kickouts to lead the team this year
* Holl and Ryan Kenney (Skippack, PA/Perkiomen) earned All-MPSF First Team honors, while Anderson and Cordon were selected to the second team and Friedman and Kruger were honorable mentions
* Head coach Gina-Bella Mata'afa was the first-ever major award recipient in program history, garnering MPSF East Coach of the Year honors

Full Tournament Schedule:

Friday, November 17 (First Round)

9:30 a.m. PST/12:30 p.m. EST--- Game 1: No. 1 seed UCLA vs. No. 8 seed Washington & Jefferson
11:15 a.m. PST/2:15 p.m. EST--- Game 2: No. 2 seed Augustana vs. No. 7 seed USC
1:00 p.m. PST/4:00 p.m. EST--- Game 3: No. 3 seed California vs. No. 6 seed Penn State Behrend
2:45 pm PST/5:45 p.m. EST--- Game 4: No. 4 seed Austin College vs. No. 5 seed Stanford

Saturday, November 18 (Semifinals)

9:30 a.m. PST/12:30 p.m. EST --- Game 5: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2
11:15 a.m. PST/2:15 p.m. EST --- Game 6: Loser Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4
1:00 p.m. PST/4:00 p.m. EST --- Game 7: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2
2:45 pm PST/5:45 p.m. EST --- Game 8: Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4

Sunday, November 19 (Finals)

9:30 a.m. PST/12:30 p.m. EST --- Game 9: Loser Game 5 vs. Loser Game 6 (East 3rd-Place)
11:15 a.m. PST/2:15 p.m. EST --- Game 10: Loser Game 7 vs. Loser Game 8 (West 3rd-Place)
1:00 p.m. PST/4:00 p.m. EST --- Game 11: Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6 (East 1st-Place)
3:00 p.m. PST/6:00 p.m. EST --- Game 12: Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8 (West 1st-Place)

For full championship tournament information, click here