Dec. 1, 2007
PALO ALTO, Calif. -- The No. 2-ranked California water polo team used a four-goal run spanning three quarters to overcome an early deficit and end Navy's quest for its first national title, 8-5, in the NCAA Semifinals on Saturday afternoon. The loss sends Navy into Sunday's third-place game against Loyola Marymount, who dropped an 8-4 decision to top-ranked USC, starting at 3:00 pm (EST).
"We played well the entire game, but just couldn't get over the hump," said Navy head coach Mike Schofield. "We had our chances and shots that we would normally put away, we missed today. You can't do that against a great team like Cal. We hung with them physically and with our fitness, but just didn't take advantage of our opportunities."
"Navy played very well, they came out with a little bit of a different offense than they've played all year," said Cal coach Kirk Everist. "It's similar to what they've done in the past but they have better athletes this year, so they caught us off guard on the first couple of possessions and we had to adjust.
"I think that this Navy team is the best they've had in a long time. It's the most balanced team, they have good lefties, strong two-meter men, and they are always fit," added Everist.
Navy led 2-1 midway through the first quarter, before Cal tied the game at 2-2 after one quarter. The Bears scored the lone goal of the second quarter for a 3-2 halftime advantage. California then stretched the lead to 5-2 after three quarters, before Navy tried to come back.
The Mids cut the lead to two goals twice at 5-3 and 7-5, the last time coming with 1:51 to play, but Navy couldn't cut into the margin any further and Cal's Jeff Tyrrell scored with 1:11 to play to ice the game away.
The win ends Navy's chances at the first NCAA title for an East Coast team, but doesn't end all of the Mids' goals.
"Our last remaining team goal is to win a game at the NCAA Tournament," said Schofield, referring to Sunday's third-place game. "This team has accomplished everything possible, except that. They want to go out on a high note. Loyola Marymount is a great team and it will take a great effort to beat them."
Five different players scored goals for Schofield. Bram Arnold, Kevin Bell, Andrew Bingham, Mike Mulvey and Aaron Recko all found the net for the Mids. George Naughton became the school's single-season all-time saves leader with 322, after stopping 10 shots today.
Navy owns a 29-6 record and saw a school-record 19-game winning streak end with today's loss.
# GO NAVY #
