The third quarter of Wednesday night’s GW men’s water polo match proved to be game-changing for the Colonials, who gave up three goals in the third en route to dropping their eighth straight match with an 8-3 loss to Johns Hopkins.

After a first half that saw both teams score three goals apiece, the Colonials (7-20, 0-7 CWPA) gained possession of the ball at the start of the quarter and looked to set up scoring opportunities. Halfway through the quarter, coming out of a GW timeout, senior John-Claude Wright fired a hard shot that was stopped by Bluejays junior goalkeeper Jeremy Selbst.

Johns Hopkins immediately took the ball the other way and freshman Kielan Crow netted a shot in the top corner of the Colonials’ goal, giving the Bluejays a one goal advantage.

Less than two minutes later, Johns Hopkins senior Peter Sauerhoff found himself alone in front of the net and responded by adding another goal for the Bluejays.

After GW called another timeout with two minutes remaining in the quarter, a major foul was called on GW senior Nick Archambault inside the 5-meter line, leading to a Johns Hopkins penalty shot. Junior John Barrett scored the Bluejays’ sixth goal with a shot in the low corner of the net.

In the fourth quarter, Johns Hopkins added two more goals, including another on a penalty shot.

Head coach Scott Reed said the opportunities his team gave Johns Hopkins to score made the difference in the match.

“It was a very tough game, very physical,” he said. “Three out of the four quarters they played really well. The third quarter was the turning point where we made a few mental errors and gave up some pretty easy opportunities for Hopkins. They’re a team where if you give up easy opportunities, they’re going to convert.”

In the final minutes of the game, a foul call on Archambault evoked strong emotions from Reed, who was issued a yellow card after arguing with the referee.

Wright provided a bright spot for GW, scoring two goals in the loss, both of which came in the second quarter.

At the beginning of the quarter, Wright lobbed a shot that bounced off the inside of the post and found its way into the back of the net, tying the game at two. After another Johns Hopkins goal, Wright had possession of the ball in front of the net. To get away from the defender, Wright spun around and launched a shot from behind his back, tying the game once again.

Reed said the Colonials need to work on tightening their game play and avoid making mental mistakes that lead to scoring chances for their opponents.

“We still have to work on eliminating some of the mental errors we’re making,” he said. “These guys have all the potential in the world to be one of the top teams in our conference. It’s the small, little mistakes that are still hurting us. We have to stop making those mistakes.”

The Colonials turn next to face 12th-ranked Navy in their final regular season game Saturday. The match is set for an 8 p.m. start.