LEWISBURG, PA. (Sept. 17, 2017) – The Salem International University (SIU) Tigers men's water polo team finished its run at the Bucknell Invitational with two losses to finish the event 1-4.
The competition marked a big test for the Tigers, who faced three nationally ranked, Division I teams over the weekend: (11) Harvard, (17) George Washington University, and (18) Bucknell University.

"We started slow. We didn't have many opportunities in the first three games; we didn't create anything or communicate on defense," Head Coach Rob Bullion said. "But [to close] we played with passion, showing good defense.

"We came into the weekend with some goals. Obviously doing the right things against these kinds of teams is always going to be a benefit to us. If we play well against these teams, it does wonders for when we get to conference play."



The Tigers lost 2-12 to No. 18 Bucknell; a score that belies how well SIU played in the first half—down just 2-4 in the first half before giving up eight goals in the second half, including five in the first quarter. Popovic and Dudok each scored for SIU in the second half.

SIU controlled the early part of its match against Wagner with a 5-2 first quarter lead, and a 7-4 lead at the half. But Wagner had a huge second half against a weary Salem team playing its fifth match of the invitational—the most of any team—for the 17-11 victory.

Djordje Stavrevski and Marino Chorro led the Tigers with two goals each and seven other SIU players scored one goal each against Wagner.

The Tigers will host two homes matches this weekend, playing Washington and Jefferson College on Sept. 22 at 7 p.m., and Gannon University on Sept. 23 at 10 a.m. On Sept. 24, the Tigers will travel to Washington, Pa. for matches against La Salle University (9:15 a.m.) and Connecticut College (11:45 a.m.).