Men’s water polo concludes Bruno Classic with thrilling double-overtime win (2024)

Saturday marked the beginning of the Brown men’s water polo season — and the Bruno Classic, an annual event held at the Katherine Moran Coleman Aquatics Center. The Bears started off the weekend with two losses before coming back for air on Sunday.

Brown played four games in the event. On Saturday, the Bears lost both of their games to top-notch programs in No. 14 Fordham University (3-0) and No. 7 University of the Pacific (3-0). But on Sunday, the tide turned in Bruno’s favor.

The day began with a 16-13 win over No. 17 California Baptist University (1-3), and ended with a dramatic victory against the United States Air Force Academy in double overtime.

“We were more prepared,” said Head Coach Felix Mercado of the team’s performance in the Classic’s second day. “We got (the losses) out of our system on Saturday, and we were more ready to play today.”

The contest against Air Force was intense from the start, as both squads demonstrated immense offensive aggression. The Falcons wasted no time, scoring a goal in the game’s first ninety seconds. But Brown’s Goran Narancic ’27 responded thirty seconds later with a goal of his own to tie the game.

The Bears and Falcons traded goals back and forth for the remainder of the quarter, with Air Force holding a slim 3-2 lead. In the second quarter, Brown amplified their offensive pressure, moving the ball well and capitalizing on weak Air Force defensive rotations. After great ball movement from Daniel Hadar ’27 and scoring from Jaxson Tierney ’27, the Bears exploded for a six-goal quarter that yielded them an 8-7 lead at halftime.

Brown and Air Force traded goals for most of the third quarter as well, with neither team gaining an advantage of more than one goal. But with 1:03 left in the third quarter, Máté Tymcyna ’27 — who finished with a game-high five goals — scored for the third time, extending the Bears’ lead to 11-9 by the start of the final quarter.

Brown maintained their momentum in the beginning of the fourth quarter, as Ramzi Megalli ’27 launched the ball past the Falcons’ defense to give the Bears a 12-9 lead — their largest of the day — with just 6:12 left in the game.

Just as Brown seemed to pull away, the Falcons came soaring back, converting Brown turnovers into offensive opportunities. In the span of just four minutes, Air Force scored three unanswered goals to tie the game at 12-12.

With 0:45 left, Brown’s Ilias Stothart ’26 scored a go-ahead and seemingly game-winning goal to give the Bears a 13-12 lead.

Then, the unthinkable happened. With just 0:07 left and the Bears in possession, Air Force’s David Brown ripped the ball out of Tymcyna’s hands and passed it to Jack Richards, who fired it into the Brown net as the clock wound down. A stunned home crowd sat in awe as the Bears’ momentum appeared left dead in the water.

Despite the jarring turn of events, the Bears remained poised. Both teams scored their 14th goal in the first three minutes of the overtime period. In the second overtime, Tymcyna scored what would finally prove the decisive goal, giving the Bears a 15-14 victory and a Sunday sweep.

Mercado credited the team’s resilience throughout the long match to its “composure.”

“We are talented and mature enough to overcome situations like that,” Mercado said. Playing in overtime “was probably a really good thing to happen to us because now we know that we’re capable of overcoming certain things” as the young season opens.

“We’re smiling,” Hadar said following the game. “What better opportunity would you have to go play in front of a home crowd in overtime when the stakes are high?”

The Bears will continue their season this Saturday in Long Beach, CA against Biola University (1-3), and return home for a September 28th doubleheader against the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Johns Hopkins University. Saturday’s contest will begin at 10:00 a.m. and can be streamed on ESPN+.