PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island – After a brief hiatus, the Salem men’s water polo team finally got back in the water for some competition up in Providence, Rhode Island where they competed in a series of contests hosted by Brown University. The Tigers went 2-2 on the weekend, and those games played out as follows:
Iona 19, Salem 10
In the first contest of the weekend, Salem squared off with the Gaels of Iona. The Tigers shook off the rust, and kept this tight with the Gaels. However, the Tigers could not find the offensive output needed to keep up, and fell by a score of 19-10. Marko Zivojinovic led Salem in the game with 5 goals, and Nikola Krstonosic was just behind him with 3 goals.
Brown 20, Salem 13
For the next contest, which was held on Saturday afternoon, Salem got to tangle with the host Brown. Brown put the pressure on the Tigers with a big first quarter. Salem kept it close, but a 4th quarter comeback bid was not enough to overcome Brown in their home pool. Therefore, Salem went away with a 20-13 loss. Statistically, Salem was led by Marko Zivojinovic who added another 5 goals to his strong weekend. Ivan Zivojinovic and Nikola Krstonosic each put in 4 goals of their own as well.
Salem 18, Occidental 13
With two tough games on Saturday, Salem was looking to get back on track for Sunday’s contests. The first opponent of the day was Occidental College, and Salem got their groove back in this contest. Salem controlled the game from the opening whistle, but Occidental kept the pressure on. Salem locked in the win though with a big 7 goal 4th quarter to seal the 18-13 victory. Marko Zivojinovic continued his impressive weekend with another 7 goals. Ivan Zivojinovic and Nikola Krstonosic each tallied 6 and 5 goals respectively.
Salem 16, Massachusetts Institute of Technology 11
For the final contest of the weekend, Salem squared off with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Salem had a tight ballgame on their hands initially, but kicked into high gear in the second half to head back home with a 16-11 win. Nikola Krstonosic had the best individual performance of the weekend as he scored 9 of Salem’s goals.
Salem will take some momentum with these two wins into conference play when it starts next weekend for the Tigers. They will head up to Erie, Pennsylvania to take on Gannon, Mercyhurst, and McKendree on October 28th and 29th for the first of two Western Water Polo Conference weekends to close out the regular season.
