Oct. 15, 2005
ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- The 13th-ranked Navy water polo team jumped out to a 5-4 halftime lead, then rallied in the second half for a 9-7 victory over 11th-ranked Princeton on Saturday night at a boisterous MacDonough Hall. The win gives Navy a 17-6 overall record and a 9-1 mark in the CWPA Southern Division standings and the top seed in the Southern Division Tournament held in Annapolis on Oct. 28-30.
"It was a very well-played, hard-fought game," said Navy head coach Mike Schofield. "We stayed strong mentally and maintained our composure and defensive pressure. I know it sounds like a cliche, but our defense generates our offense for us. We are at our best when we play well defensively."
Navy jumped out to a 3-1 lead five minutes into the game on a Todd Carlson (Modesto, Calif.) goal, and held a 3-2 advantage after one quarter. The two teams traded goals in the second period and Navy led 5-4 at halftime.
Princeton opened the second half, scoring the first two goals of the half to take a 6-5 lead two-and-a-half minutes into the third quarter. However, Alex Ratcliffe (Coronado, Calif.) knotted the game at six with a netter with just over a minute remaining in the quarter.
After the two teams traded goals in the first 2:24 of the fourth quarter, Navy got the game winner on a Jordan Gentry (San Antonio, Texas) penalty-shot goal with 2:15 to play, then added an insurance goal on a Ratcliffe breakaway with just 28 seconds to play for the 9-7 victory.
Andrew Plumb (Altadena, Calif.) netted three goals and an assist to lead Navy. Plumb had a busy day in the pool, as he swam in the three-team meet earlier in the day in Lejuene Hall. Gentry added two goals and two assists, and Ratcliffe scored twice and Carlson and Michael Mulvey (Carlsbad, Calif.) scored once for the Mids. George Naughton (Deerfield Beach, Fla.) recorded eight saves in goal and dished out one assist.
"Princeton is a very good team and I am sure we will see them again down the road," said Schofield. "We won't rest on our laurels.
"But I thought our seniors played great," added Schofield. "And Plumb played great as well. We played 12 guys tonight and they all played well."
The Mids will be off next weekend, then will host the CWPA Southern Division Championship on Oct. 28-30. Navy will be the top seed in the tournament.
# GO NAVY #
