Oct. 14, 2005
ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- The No. 13-ranked Navy water polo team overcame a 4-0 deficit in the second game of Friday's league games to grab a 5-4 victory over Bucknell before a raucous crowd at MacDonough Hall. The Mids also claimed their first game of the day with a 14-6 victory over Salem International. The wins set up a key league showdown with Princeton tomorrow night at 7:00 p.m., in MacDonough Hall. Navy's record improves to 16-6 overall and 8-1 in the CWPA Southern Division.
In the first game of the day, Navy fell behind 1-0 early, but rattled off 10 straight goals to put the game out of reach and cruise to a 14-6 triumph over Salem International. The Mids led 3-1 after one quarter, then outscored the Tigers, 6-0, in the second quarter for a 9-1 halftime advantage. Jordan Gentry (San Antonio, Texas) tallied three goals and Andrew Plumb (Altadena, Calif.) , Tyler Hill (Houston, Texas) and Bram Arnold (Lemoore, Calif.) netted two goals each. Michael Mulvey (Carlsbad, Calif.) contributed one goal and two assists.
In the second game, Bucknell jumped out to a 4-0 lead, and led 4-1 at halftime and 4-2 after three quarters. But Navy stormed back, tying the game with 2:59 to play on a Todd Carlson (Modesto, Calif.) goal, and getting the game-winner on a Plumb tally with just 36 seconds left. Plumb's goal came from eight meters out and snuck into the right corner.
"It didn't look like a shot," said Plumb, who scored his 26th goal on the season with the game-winner. "I am not a strong outside shooter and was looking to set up the offense. The goalie was out of position a bit, so I thought I would just try it, and fortunately it worked out all right."
Five different players scored goals for Navy in the win and Alex Ratcliffe (Coronado, Calif.) added two assists. The comeback was sparked by the Navy defense, which held Bucknell scoreless for the last 19:18 of the game.
"Hats off to Bucknell. They played a great game and its goalie was lights out," said Navy head coach Mike Schofield. "We were very fortunate to win the game. I don't quite understand how we could come out unprepared after our first game, and Bucknell took full advantage. But I have to give our guys credit. We hung in there and made the plays when we needed to."
Navy will host Princeton on Saturday night at 7:00 p.m., in MacDonough Hall.
# GO NAVY #
