No. 19 men’s water polo (11-6, 3-2 NWPC) secured three wins out of four games this weekend, highlighted by a thrilling 10-9 comeback victory against No. 20/19 Navy (14-7, 4-2 MAWPC) on Saturday.
“We went into this weekend trying to build momentum into being a better team,” Head Coach Felix Mercado said. “Going three and one, I was very impressed with (the team).”
The Bears opened the weekend with a dominant win against Mount St. Mary’s (5-21, 3-5 MAAC), netting an impressive eight goals in the first quarter alone and setting the stage for a high-scoring match. Ilias Stothart ’26 led the way with five goals, while freshman Dominik Balla ’28 added a career-high four goals.
Following this decisive win, the Bears faced a tougher challenge against Navy in their second game on Saturday. The match was a back-and-forth battle, with the teams locked at 8-8 heading into the final quarter. Navy scored to take a one-goal lead with under six minutes to play, but the Bears responded less than a minute later when Daniel Hadar ’26 came in clutch with the game-tying goal. With under three minutes to play, Hadar scored his third goal of the game to secure a 10-9 victory for Bruno.
“All credit goes to my teammates,” Hadar said postgame. They “were the ones that put us in a position to be close. Even if we were down, we were in there and fighting.”
Sunday morning saw Brown face off against another formidable opponent in No. 13 San Jose State (8-3, 1-1 WCC). Despite ending a strong first half tied 7-7, the Spartans pulled away in the second half, outscoring the Bears to clinch an 18-11 win.
Brown wrapped up the weekend on a high note, overwhelming Mercyhurst (4-14, 0-10 WWPA) in a decisive 15-4 win, marked by a balanced attack and standout defense. Stothart scored three goals, while Mac Berry ’27, Goran Narancic ’27, Theo Pliner ’27 and Roberto Serrano ’26 added two goals apiece.
Reflecting on the weekend’s performances, Stothart noted the team’s growing cohesion. “These four games have been the games that we were playing for each other,” he said. “We’re really finding our pace, finding our identity.”
Hadar agreed that the team is really starting to gel. “We’re getting critical, critical time right now to figure ourselves out,” he said. “It’s been good to see us find our identity and be more together.”
Mercado praised the team’s resilience and determination, particularly in the face of a grueling schedule and strong opponents. “Even the game we lost (Sunday) morning, we went three quarters toe-to-toe with a top 14 team in the country,” he said. The Bears “did a good job of staying together, staying connected (and) talking through things, and their efforts showed off this weekend by us going three and one.”
The team has had a successful season so far, holding an 11-6 record despite obstacles such as multiple key injuries and a challenging schedule, which has pitted them against eight ranked teams already.
“We faced some critical players being injured, and that is definitely hard to play with,” Hadar explained. “But … it’s forced us to become closer. We’re working as a unit, and it’s been the most fun water polo that we’ve played in a long time.”
Mercado believes that the team’s difficult schedule has helped them improve throughout the season. “We can play with anybody,” he said. “We’re playing high-end games so that we can get better, because nobody exposes our mistakes better than good teams.”
The team is also channeling their focus inward, rather than towards their opponents. “Right now, our mindset isn’t who we’re playing,” Mercado said. “It’s focused on us. …We just want to make sure that we’re approaching every game (thinking) ‘nobody outworks us.’”
Both Stothart and Hadar pointed to a team-first mindset as the cause for their continued improvement. “It’s really just about having confidence and trusting each other,” Hadar said. “That way, you can trust yourself.”
“When you remove yourself from the situation, it’s much less difficult to do the right thing,” Stothart said. “We’re finding a different way of playing that involves more players and involves me doing things I'm not used to … but it’s the right direction to move in, and ultimately, it’s the direction that makes us more successful."
Brown will travel west next weekend for the Julian Fraser Memorial Tournament at the University of Santa Clara, where they will play three games over the course of two days.
“I think it’s been a very constructive weekend for us,” Hadar said. “I’m looking forward to seeing the team we’re going to shape into the coming weeks.”
Gus Bailey is a senior staff writer covering the sports beat. He is a sophomore studying applied math-economics. His interests include data analytics, marketing, social media and of course, sports.
