Sept. 6, 2009

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- The No. 12-ranked Navy water polo team went 2-2 on the second day of the Navy Open, defeating Mercyhurst and Gannon and falling to Concordia (Calif.) and second-ranked Stanford. The Midshipmen ended their grueling nine-game stretch in two days with a 5-4 record.

"The weekend worked out really well for us in that we got a lot of games and everyone got a lot of minutes in the pool," said Navy head coach Mike Schofield. "The quality suffered some, but we learned a lot about our team."

In the Mids' first game of the day against Concordia (Calif.), the Mids struggled early and could never get in any rhythm, falling to the Eagles, 11-4. Jordan Carter, Alex Kofsky, Conor Handley and Kyle Wertz scored a goal each for Navy. Brett Rajchel had 12 saves in goal for Navy.

Navy would respond with a pair of convincing victories in its next games, a 14-5 decision over Mercyhurst and a 12-5 triumph over Gannon.

In the win over Mercyhurst, the Mids jumped out to an 8-1 halftime lead and cruised in for the win. Dan Pedrotty, Kyle McGhie and Tyler Thein scored twice each and eight players tallied one goal each. Chase Hansen made six saves in goal for Navy.

Against Gannon, Navy started slow and trailed 2-1 at halftime, but outscored Gannon, 7-1, in the fourth quarter to pull away for the victory. Johnny Meiners had three goals, while Stevie Ray and Conor Handley tallied a pair each. Hansen stopped four shots in goal.

In the final game of the weekend, second-ranked Stanford outscored the Mids, 16-7. Luke Baldwin and Stevie Ray had a pair of goals each, while Rajchel stopped six shots in goal.

"Any concerns we might have had on peaking too early can be put to rest," joked Schofield. "But I saw a lot of things that encouraged me. We did some good things and am encouraged by what we have to work on. All of the issues that need work is correctable."

Navy will be in action next when it takes on 10th-ranked UC San Diego next Saturday at 10:30 am in Annapolis.

# GO NAVY #