Water Polo 9/13/2023 10:16:00 AM

Bomber Water Polo - Ohio Cup Recap

Bomber Water Polo - Ohio Cup Recap

This past weekend the bombers sent both a JV and varsity team to the Ohio Cup in Worthington. Traditionally this tournament features the top teams in Ohio and brings in some top outside Ohio teams as well, it is also viewed as the Mid-Season Championship. Unlike many invites through the season, this tournament plays to a champion.

The 2023 Ohio Cup featured 16 varsity teams, and 14 JV teams. Day 1 of the Ohio Cup is group play, and day 2 is bracket play. The bracket was set up to feature a Final Four for each division - to make the Final Four, it would require the bombers to win their group. To win the group it would require the Bombers to go undefeated on day 1.

Varsity day 1 schedule was Napoleon (OH), New Albany (OH), and Chicago Park (IL). The bombers kicked the day off in spectacular fashion and dominated both ends of the ball against Napoleon and New Albany - both being big wins. The 3^rd game of the day was against Chicago Park - a team the bombers have lost the last 3 games to, with the last meeting being in California in July being a double digit win for Chicago Park. From the start of the game the bombers showed they have learned how to navigate these games and established control early on. Goalies Will Moran and Josh Garza combined for massive saves and counter attack opportunities. Liam Bien's defensive presence prevented the best offensive threat from Chicago Park to ever get into a flow. This effort earned Liam a nomination for Enquirer Player Of The Week (you can vote for him here: https://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/high-school/high-school-sports/2023/09/11/cincinnati-enquirer-high-school-athlete-of-the-week-sept-11/70825526007/). Winning this game would put the bombers in the Final Four, and losing would drop them into the 5th-8^th bracket. The bombers kept their control through entirety of the match and would see the game out to an 11-9 victory over Chicago Park and secured a spot in the semi-finals.

JV experienced the same kind of success on day 1. The JV bombers opened the day with defending Ohio JV Champions - St. Charles. This game was a back and forth contest that was never more than a 2 goal lead for either team. This one came down to the wire, with the bombers emerging with an 11-10 win. Goalie Lucas Mijares led the defensive line with 11 blocks and sophomore Dan Ahrens led the offensive output with 4 goals. This win put the bombers in the driver seat for the rest of the day. The remaining game was a dominant performance with a 22-4 win over Sylvania. This put the bombers in the Final Four of the Ohio Cup.

For the 1^st time since 2017 the bombers were in the Final Four of both JV and Varsity of the Ohio Cup.

JV semi-final was a dominant win over host Worthington 12-3, which featured performance from Walker Bailey. This put them in a championship game against Upper Arlington. The JV championship game was always a tight contest with never more than a 2 goal swing one way or the other. The bombers were tied going into the 4^th quarter, and unfortunately came up 2 goals short and took 2^nd at the Ohio Cup.

Varsity saw a very difficult lineup on day 2. Their semi-final game was against St. Francis (2x defending state runner-up), and while this game was tied at half time, a strong 3^rd quarter saw St. Francis pull away and take a 12-6 win. This loss put St. Xavier in a 3^rd place game against Upper Arlington (2x defending state champion). This too was a tightly played contest. Wolfgang Bingaman's play up and down the pool kept the bombers in a very strong position the whole way. Carter Meier provided several outside goals, while Alek Stanisic and Sam Franke dominated the inside game. This game ended in a buzzer beating game winning goal from Upper Arlington, and gave the bombers a 12-13 loss. This was the tightest the bombers have played the defending champions UA in the last 3 years.

The mid season championship tournament of the Ohio Cup was an outstanding performance by the water polo bombers! 2^nd place for JV and 4^th for varsity. This is the best overall performance for the bombers since they won the Ohio Cup in 2017.

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Players Mentioned

Walker Bailey: Sophomore

#2 Liam Bien: Junior

#10 Wolfgang Bingaman: Senior

#9 Sam Franke: Junior

#7 Carter Meier: Senior

#23 Alek Stanisic: Senior

Players Mentioned

Walker Bailey
: Sophomore

#2 Liam Bien
: Junior

#10 Wolfgang Bingaman
: Senior

#9 Sam Franke
: Junior

#7 Carter Meier
: Senior

#23 Alek Stanisic
: Senior

ST. XAVIER BOMBERS ATHLETICS

Bomber Water Polo - Ohio Cup Recap

Players Mentioned

Walker Bailey

#2 Liam Bien

#10 Wolfgang Bingaman

#9 Sam Franke

#7 Carter Meier

#23 Alek Stanisic

Players Mentioned

Walker Bailey

#2 Liam Bien

#10 Wolfgang Bingaman

#9 Sam Franke

#7 Carter Meier

#23 Alek Stanisic

Scoreboard