Fordham beat SJSU by 2. Were down by 1 going into 4th. The UOP match will be big for seeding and a potential lone undefeated team.
In case anyone is looking on ESPN…the Fordham vs UOP game today is on the Santa Clara site → Julian Fraser Memorial | Day 1 - Santa Clara All-Access - Powered by SIDEARM Showcase - Santa Clara University along with the others tournament games.
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Anyone else having problems getting the video to work?
I can’t get it to work either. Just goes black after the previous game. Nothing from UOP vs Fordham
They just fixed it - it’s working.
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Fordham over Pacific 17-13. Just a huge moment for the program, the team and Eastern water polo in general.
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Great win for Fordham. So happy for Lercari. I watched him all through high school and knew he would be a big time goalie. What a huge 5m stop when it counted most. And to the coach of the losing team, this is why you don’t skip the MPSF invite.
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Lercari has been incredible. He is Fordham’s most important player and went up a level this season. You can make a case that he is one of the best two goalies that will be playing at NCAAs.
Well, nobody yet knows for sure who will be playing at NCAA’s, but I think you can definitely make a strong agrument that the two best goalies in the country this year are playing on the East Coast.
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I’d put Tempkin at the top of that list too
Feels like the goalie situation mirrors the overall field: it’s more wide open than usual with a lot of quality in the #4-6 ranked teams who just might be able to compete with the top 3 come NCAAs
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The UOP issue is simple. He refused to play in the MPSF tournament (I’ve heard because he wanted to only be allowed to play one game per day). Because he said no to that tournament, he was (rightly imo) told there would be no regular season games. It’s his own fault.
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Why does that make it right? The MPSF tournament was only 8 teams. Plenty of other teams didn’t play in that tournament and still got games with the big 4. Why was it such a big deal that UOP declined to the point of refusing to play them individually? It’s weird on both sides.
Some might say that Graham is getting the taste of his own medicine. He is always “playing games”, legally of course, trying to win the NCAA during one of his teams’s peak years. If so, he should not be surprised that the other top teams are joining the fun.
IMHO, Graham feels that his team’s starters are as strong as any other teams’s top seven but perhaps UOP is not that deep. Hence one game a day format is more beneficial to UOP.
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one could argue the MPSF tournament is biased in favor of the Big 4 who always have the depth advantage, and as one of the next tier of teams you’re facing the dilemma of 2 games in a day….do you give it all to beat a Big 4 and risk losing the next game which could affect your rankings?
Once you get to NCAAs it’s only one game per day
As I said if you look for an advantage do not be surprised that others do it as well. BTW, does UOP skip big tournaments annually or just during the team’s “peak” years?
Graham is gaming the system the most afaik.
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Fair points, looks like he put his eggs in the basket of going undefeated
The other teams are not in the Top 5 the way UOP is. It would be the same if UCLA decided NOT to play in the MPSF tournament. If you’re a Top 5 team, you play everyone and play in the tournament. You can’t have one team playing fewer games or trying to dictate the rules to their own advantage. Before the loss to Fordham, UOP had the potential of not having any losses, ending with a perfect record in their league, and getting the #1 seed at NCAA–a significant advantage–without playing in the MPSF tournament. You may feel otherwise, but that’s one opinion. It’s just one-sided to say “…the Big 4 are avoiding us…”. That isn’t the whole story. I respect any and all opinions. That is just mine.
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Why didn’t the big 4 schedule Fordham? That is something I’m hoping to see in playoffs (well the big 3 as it is this year). Conspiracy theory dabbling here that Fordham and Pacific ended up being two best teams outside of the big 4 conference and nobody in the group risked the At Large bids possibly losing to one of them. Could the big 4 have agreed to run the table that way?
I mentioned this earlier, but my understanding is Fordham tried, not sure why it didn’t happen. Sometimes schedules don’t align
Pretty sure Fordham didn’t have UoP aspirations of running the table to become the #1 seed, but using your analogy, does that mean the Fordham has effectively stole UoP’s undefeated basket and now stands in their shoes? Curious on everyone’s thoughts on Fordham moving up from the 4 spot I’d they in fact remain undefeated.