Sept. 18, 2011
LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- The 15th-ranked Navy water polo stunned 10th-ranked Loyola Marymount in Saturday's opener, then split its final two games on the day to cap off day two out of its three-day California trip. The Mids now stand at 8-3 entering Sunday's action which features three more games.
Navy topped Loyola Marymount (12-11) and Cal Baptist (11-10), but dropped the nightcap to Pomona-Pitzer (10-7).
In the day's first game, the Midshipmen knocked off 10th-ranked Loyola Marymount, 12-11. It is the first Top 10 foe Navy has beaten since the 2007 season and the NCAA Tournament, when Navy defeated 10th-ranked Loyola Marymount in the NCAA consolation game, 7-6.
Navy trailed the Lions, 4-3, after one quarter and 8-4 at halftime before mounting a comeback behind the Warren brothers. After cutting the lead to 9-7 after three quarters, the Midshipmen outscored the Lions, 5-2, in the final quarter for the 12-11 decision.
Arny Warren scored three of his career-high five goals in the fourth quarter, including a goal to tie the game at 10 with 5:21 to play and another tally with 3:37 to play that gave Navy the lead for good. Conor Handley pushed the lead to 12-10 with 1:47 to play, before LMU scored with one second left to make the final score, 12-11.
Meanwhile, Archie Warren started Navy's rally in the third quarter with his only two goals of the evening. The Warren brothers scored six of Navy's eight second-half goals. Kyle Wertz would add a pair of goals in the first half for Navy.
Anthony Gutierrez stopped eight shots in goal for Navy.
"We finally hung tough and gave ourselves a chance to win," said Navy head coach Mike Schofield. "It was a really good effort. Arny Warren had a breakout performance today, and made the most of his chances. It was a really gratifying win and our defensive players really kept us in the game."
In the next game, 18th-ranked Cal Baptist matched Navy nearly goal for goal with neither team having more than a one-goal advantage at the end of each quarter. Trailing 8-7 entering the final eight minutes, the Lancers scored on three 6-on-5 opportunities to tie the game at 10 with 2:41 remaining. However, the Mids stopped the rally, scoring the game-winner with less than 20 seconds remaining for the final 11-10 margin.
Navy dropped a 10-7 decision in the nightcap to Pomona-Pitzer.
Due to the lateness of the games, stats and highlights were not available of the final two games on the day.
Navy will take on Redlands, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and MIT, beginning at noon (ET) to wrap up its eight-game California trip. In addition, Navy will face Harvard and Connecticut College in Annapolis tomorrow, beginning at 11:45 am.
# GO NAVY #
