Nov. 18, 2011
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- The No. 15-ranked Navy water polo team bolted out to a 5-2 advantage after one quarter and were never threatened in a 20-5 decision over Harvard in the CWPA Eastern Tournament quarterfinals on Friday afternoon. The win improves Navy's record to 23-6 overall and was the Midshipmen's seventh win in a row, with all them coming by at least five goals.
"We worked out a lot of kinks and were pretty sharp today," said Navy head coach Mike Schofield. "Harvard came to play today, but just didn't have the horses to compete. We were just more experienced. I was pleased with our effort and it was good to get everyone in the game and rest some guys."
The Mids led 5-2 after one quarter, then outscored the Crimson, 7-1, in the second quarter to grab a commanding 12-3 halftime advantage. Navy outscored the Crimson, 4-1, in each of the second half's two quarters for the 20-5 victory.
The 20 goals, and 15-goal margin, were the most for the squad since a 23-3 victory in the season opener against Gannon way back on Sept. 3.
Kyle Wertz scored all six of his goals in the first half and added two assists for an eight-point effort. The eight points give him 78 for the season (49 g, 29 a) and 250 points for his career. His 177 career goals are just four shy of entering the career top 10 list at Navy. Sean Foster (1997-00) ranks 10th with 181 career goals, while David Kaye (1982-85) is ninth with 186 tallies.
Stevie Ray added four goals while Paul Pedrotty tallied six points (3 g, 3 a). Conor Handley and Jack Finch each scored twice.
Anthony Gutierrez started the game in goal, stopping three shots against three goals allowed, while Tyler Barker also stopped three shots in goal while allowing two goals in the second half.
Navy dominated in man-up opportunities, converting on 8-of-12 extra-man chances while Harvard connected on just 1-of-6 man-up advantages.
The Midshipmen will now play 17th-ranked Brown in the semifinals on Saturday at 6:00 pm. It will be the first meeting against the Bears this season and Navy won both meetings last year, including a 15-9 decision in the Eastern Tournament.
The four top seeds advanced as Brown moved on to the semifinals with an 11-10 decision over Bucknell. St. Francis (N.Y.) and Princeton will play in the other semifinal matchup on Saturday, beginning at 4:30 pm.
"Brown is playing very well right now and will provide a great challenge. We played well today and we are going to have to do the same on Saturday to move on," said Schofield.
Navy is now 65-23 in 30 Eastern Tournament appearances and has reached the semifinals in 10 straight tournaments since 2002 and in 26 of the 30 tournaments contested since 1982.
# GO NAVY #
