A sudden-death goal in the eight minute of overtime ended Salem University's hopes for a conference championship as the third-seeded Tigers fell to No. 2 seed McKendree University 16-15 in the semifinal round of the 2019 Mid-Atlantic Water Polo-West Region Tournament Saturday at Erie, Pa. The Tigers rallied from a two-goal deficit with two power play goals in the final 65 seconds of overtime to force the sudden death period.
 
The Tigers advanced to the semifinals with a 22-8 first-round win over No. 6 seed Washington and Jefferson earlier in the day. Petar Leontijevic had six goals for Salem, which led 10-1 after the first period. The Tigers will face fourth-seeded Mercyhurst University Sunday in the third-place game.
 
Salem (11-12) broke an 11-11 tie on Salvador Orozco's goal with 2:42 left in regulation. The lead held until McKendree (12-11) evened the score with 29 seconds remaining. The Bearcats had a chance to win in regulation, but Tiger goalkeeper Julen Alonso made a save to send the contest in overtime.
 
After McKendree went on top at the exact midpoint of the first three-minute period, Salem tied the game 13-13 on a power play goal by Michael Rojas with 60 seconds remaining. The Bearcats scored again with 32 seconds left to go back on top as the two teams switched ends for the next three-minute period.
 
A penalty shot with 2:03 remaining extended the Bearcats' lead to 15-13, the first two-goal lead by either team since the opening minute of the fourth period. But Salem cut the deficit in half with 1:05 left on a power play goal by Mike Diaz off an assist by Manuel Estella Soto.
 
Austin Kephart drew an exclusion against McKendree with 26 seconds left to give Salem a power play opportunity and tied the game with four seconds remaining to send the game into sudden death. Alvaro Leon Parra had the assist on the goal.
 
Salem had another power play chance with under two minutes remaining after Nephtali Rivera drew an exclusion against McKendree. But Bearcat goalkeeper Ori Scanlon made the save on a Tiger shot attempt. After having a shot hit the post, McKendree's Nico Rodriguez scored the game winner to send the Bearcats to the championship game.
 
Rojas, Robert Juhas and Milos Popovic paced a balanced attack with three goals apiece. Alonso finished with 17 saves in goal.
 
Saturday's semifinal was a rematch of last year's championship, also won by McKendree by one goal.
 
Against Washington and Jefferson, Orozco scored two goals in the first 77 seconds and after Salem allowed a goal, Leontijevic's goal ignited an 8-0 run for the Tigers. Leontijevic, Juhas and Popovic scored two goals apiece in the period. Orozco capped the scoring with 1:01 remaining for his third goal of the period.
 
Leontijevic's goal with 54 seconds left in the second period gave Salem a 13-3 halftime lead and the margin never fell below double figures the remainder of the contest.
 
Diaz matched Orozco with three goals for the contest. Alonso recorded 11 saves in three quarters in goal for the Tigers.
 
Salem has a 2-0 record against Mercyhurst this season, scoring 21 goals in each meeting. The Tigers won 21-20 in overtime in regular season conference play and defeated the Lakers 21-7 in the CWPA Division II Eastern Regional Championship two weeks ago at Salem University Pool. Game time is 10:30 a.m.