Sept. 19, 2010
BERKELEY, Calif. -- The 16th-ranked Navy water polo finished in 14th place in the extremely competitive NorCal Open held this weekend at the University of California. The Mids went 1-3 during the two-day stretch and enter next week's CWPA Southern Division league opener with a 13-4 overall record.
"It was a worthwhile trip to come out here and see the elite teams in the country. I feel that we learned a lot about our team," said Navy head coach Mike Schofield. "We are not an elite team at the moment. We have aspirations to get there, but we have to get a lot better. We just did not have enough quality moments in each game, and didn't play with enough hustle and effort. We are working guys into roles they have not been in, and it's going slower than we had hoped. We need to improve and do it quickly."
The Mids won their first game of Sunday, defeating Pomona-Pitzer College, 14-8, which sent Navy into the 13th-place game. The Mids led just 5-4 at halftime, then outscored Pomona-Pitzer, 5-2 and 4-2 in the third and fourth quarters respectively, to cruise in for the 14-8 victory.
Luke Baldwin and Conor Handley continued their high level of play with three goals each. Stevie Ray had a pair, while seven other players tallied one goal each. Junior Chase Hansen had his best game of his career with a career-high 13-save effort to send Navy to the 13th-place game.
However, in the 13th-place game, Navy fell to 11th-ranked UC San Diego, 9-6. The two teams were tied at 2-2 after one quarter, but the Tritons outscored Navy, 6-2, over the middle two quarters to take an 8-4 lead heading into the fourth quarter. Navy outscored UC San Diego, 2-1, in the fourth quarter, but it was not enough, as the Mids dropped a 9-6 decision.
Six different players all scored one goal for Navy. Anthony Gutierrez stopped five shots in goal for the Midshipmen.
"Our goalies are doing pretty good and Jordan Carter and Conor Handley have been the most active," said Schofield. "We need some more guys to assume primary roles on this team. Guys that have been looking, listening and learning need to start doing and doing it soon."
Navy opens league play next Saturday as Bucknell and Princeton come calling to MacDonough Hall's Scott Natatorium. Navy will battle Bucknell at noon and Princeton at 8:00 pm. The Bucknell contest will be streamed online at NavySports.com on Navy All-Access.
# GO NAVY #
