Nov. 4, 2012
ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- The No. 14-ranked Navy water polo team dropped its second straight game, finishing fourth at the CWPA Southern Division Tournament by virtue of a 10-7 setback to 18th-ranked Princeton, 10-7, on Sunday afternoon at Bucknell University.
The loss drops Navy's record to 22-4 overall and sends the Midshipmen into the CWPA Eastern Championships as the seventh overall seed and will face St. Francis (N.Y.) in the quarterfinals. The Terriers won the CWPA Northern Division title over Brown, 8-7, to earn the second seed.
Bucknell will be the top seed after topping Mercyhurst, 9-4, in the finals of the CWPA Southern Division tournament.
"I am absolutely certain that no one will accuse us of peaking too soon. We didn't have one performer this weekend that played well for us," said Navy head coach Mike Schofield. "If we can remember what our identity is and where we achieved success earlier in the year, I think we will be all right. We got what we deserved this weekend as we were outworked, outcoached and outplayed. We need to get our mojo back in the next two weeks."
The 18th-ranked Tigers jumped out early, taking a 3-1 lead after one quarter and an 8-3 cushion at halftime. Princeton stretched the lead to 9-5 after three quarters before coasting in for the 10-7 decision. Navy would get no closer than three goals in the final three quarters, and that came with the final 10-7 margin.
"We just need to remember what got us where we were. There is no need to tear up the blueprint, but just get back to what worked during the first two months of the season," said Schofield.
Freshman Carl Dowzicky led Navy with two goals and one assist, while six other players scored one goal each. Erich Schwamb would score three points on a goal and two assists.
Freshman Caleb Lintz earned the start in goal, stopping three shots while allowing eight goals in the first half. Anthony Gutierrez made four saves in goal during the second half.
Action at the CWPA Eastern Championships gets underway on Nov. 16, in Princeton, N.J. Times will be announced at a later time.
# GO NAVY #
