The GW men’s water polo team earned its spot in the upcoming Eastern Championships Saturday and Sunday in Annapolis, Md., but achieving placement in the tournament was not easy.

The Colonials were forced into a must-win match in the Southern Championships the last weekend in October against Bucknell University – to whom they had previously lost three times this season.

Defeating Bucknell took an entire team effort. Despite an opening-minute goal by Bucknell, GW regained its momentum with a goal by freshman Chris Green to tie the score.

The rest of the game remained a constant back-and-forth battle. GW never gave up despite the significant intensity level, Coach Scott Reed said.

This was the most complete game we’ve played all year, despite the first minute (of play), he said.

Senior Rush Taylor scored three goals, finishing as the team’s leading scorer.

It was a good team effort, Reed said.

The victory automatically placed GW into the top four teams in the Southern Conference and ultimately gave it a spot in the coming tournament.

Two matches decided GW’s seed for the tournament after its victory over Bucknell. The Colonials lost both of those matches, one to the United States Naval Academy, 8-3, and the other to Johns Hopkins University, 6-3.

Losing the two matches dropped GW to the bottom of the tournament’s seedings. Therefore, GW must play the tournament’s No. 1 team, Massachusetts.

The Colonials will have their hands full when the tournament begins. UMass has won the tournament five of the past six years. Reed remains confident in his program’s chances this weekend, despite GW’s previous losses this season to UMass.

We plan on going with what we’ve been doing, Reed said. I’m hoping for a complete game (from the players).

The winner of the tournament receives one of four automatic bids to the National Water Polo Championships.