Sept. 24, 2005
PRINCETON, N.J. -- The 12th-ranked Navy water polo won its opening game in the ECAC Tournament, but saw its tournament title hopes dashed in the semifinals. In the opening game, Navy outscored Brown, 9-4, in the second half to hold off the Bears, 11-7. The Mids, however, fell to 14th-ranked St. Francis on Saturday night, 14-9. Navy dropped to 10-5 on the season with the loss to St. Francis.
"We started slow against Brown, but had a strong second half," said Navy head coach Mike Schofield. "It was a good win for us. Brown is a very talented team."
The two teams were tied 2-2 after one quarter, but Brown took a 3-2 advantage into the halftime break. But Navy came out surging in the third quarter, outscoring the Bears, 5-2, to take a 7-5 cushion into the final stanza. The Mids pulled away in the fourth quarter for an 11-7 decision.
Freshman Mike Mulvey (Carlsbad, Calif.), sophomore Tyler Hill (Houston, Texas) and junior Todd Carlson (Modesto, Calif.) scored a pair of goals each, while five others tallied one goal. Alex Ratcliffe (Coronado, Calif.) finished the game with five points (1 g, 4 a). In goal, sophomore George Naughton (Deerfield Beach, Fla.) made three saves and grabbed one steal for the Mids.
"We got a lot of strong performances against Brown," said Schofield. "Alex Ratcliffe had a very good game for us. He did a great job distributing the ball against Brown."
In the semifinals, Navy fell behind early and was forced to play catch-up all game, in falling to St. Francis, 14-9.
"We had a very poor game defensively against St. Francis," said Schofield. "We can't give up that many goals and be successful. It's very tough to come from behind all game against good teams."
The Mids trailed 6-2 after one quarter, but whittled the lead to 8-6 at halftime. St. Francis led 10-7, and Navy could get no closer in the fourth quarter.
Carlson and Ratcliffe each had two goals, while five others found the goal once for Navy. Naughton made seven saves in goal, before Andrew Neuwirth (Ross, Calif.) came on in relief and made one save.
The Mids will finish play in the ECAC Tournament on Sunday afternoon. Navy will take on Bucknell at noon in the third-place game.
Navy Goals vs. Brown: Mike Mulvey 2, Todd Carlson 2, Tyler Hill 2, Bram Arnold 1, Andrew Bingham 1, Jordan Gentry 1, Aaron Recko 1, Alex Ratcliffe 1
Navy Goalkeeping vs. Brown: George Naughton, (3 saves, 1 steal)
Navy Goals vs. St. Francis: Todd Carlson 2, Alex Ratcliffe 2, Bram Arnold 1, Jordan Gentry 1, Aaron Recko 1, Andrew Bingham 1, Jordan Flacco 1
Navy Goalkeeping vs. St. Francis: George Naughton (7 saves), Andrew Neuwirth (1 save).
# GO NAVY #
