WWPA will have a new champion in 2024
IRVINE, Calif. - The Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) will have a new champion after Concordia and Salem secured their places in the WWPA Championship Final on Saturday afternoon at Woollett Aquatics Center.
The Tigers and Golden Eagles face off Sunday afternoon at 1pm with a ticket to the National Collegiate Water Polo Championship on the line.
Live video and live statistics can be found on 2024 WWPA Championship Central.
Semifinal 1: #1W Concordia 14 - #2E Gannon 9
No. 1 West seed Concordia rode early momentum en route to a 14-9 semifinal win over No. 2 East seed Gannon.
Harry Bentham scored a game-high five goals in the first half, Konstantinos Koulouris added a hat trick, and First Team goalkeeper Griffin Beth made 10 saves to help the Golden Eagles make the title game for the second year in a row.
The teams traded scores at the outset, but a 3-0 run sparked by two from Bentham gave CUI its first significant gap, 5-2 in the first quarter. GU pulled within one again, but Koulouris and Stuart scored on consecutive possessions for CUI.
Beth and the Golden Eagle defense held Gannon scoreless the final 3:56 of the half. Bentham scored twice more and Stan De May got into the action to make it 10-5 at the break.
The Golden Knights won the opening sprint of the third quarter and Alexandros Kotskar immediately deposited a shot into the corner of the net to end a four-minute scoreless streak.
GU put together a couple defensive stops, but could not keep the rally going as Beth made two outstretched saves to keep GU at bay.
Alvaro Marco, who registered 13 saves, made a series of stops, keeping CUI to just two scores in the third period. However, GU was unable to generate any momentum due in large part to numerous offensive fouls.
Nikiforos Liantziris scored his third goal of the game to bring back Gannon within three with six minutes remaining but it'd be the closest the Golden Eagles would get.
CUI had nine steals and held GU to 1-of-8 on the powerplay.
Gannon will play for third place on Sunday morning against Biola at 11am.
Semifinal 2: #1E Salem 19 - #2W Biola 18
Salem will play in its first WWPA Championship Final after outlasting 2023 champion Biola, 19-18, in the afternoon semifinal.
Tied at the break, Salem scored three goals in the first minute of the third quarter and spent the rest of the game keeping Biola at arm's length.
However, the Eagles wouldn't go quietly. Down three with under three minutes to play, Adam Lavoy and Nick Murray scored on back-to-back powerplays to pull BU within a goal.
Both teams turned the ball over on their next possessions and the Eagles took a timeout with 16 seconds remaining with a chance to tie the game. However, Caleb Hernandez's pass was cut off by Marko Zivojinovic with only moments remaining and the Tigers milked the clock to secure a berth in the Final.
Nikola Krstonosic scored a tournament-high seven goals and Zivojinovic added six in the win. The duo converted a combined four penalty shots.
Biola's John Grasso matched Zivojinovic with seven goals on 7-of-8 shooting in the game. Goalkeeper Mitchell Carpenter made 14 saves, the most of any player in the tournament.
Biola will play for third place on Sunday morning against Gannon at 11am.