Sept. 28, 2012
ANNAPOLIS, Md.. -- The 15th-ranked Navy water polo team bounced back from its first defeat of the season with victories on Friday over Whittier College and La Verne College.
Navy topped Whittier College, 14-8, in the first game of the day and then defeated La Verne, 19-6, in the nightcap. The wins move Navy's record to 14-1 overall, entering its final day of its West Coast roadtrip.
"We started a little sluggish this morning in the first half against Whittier and they were ready to play," said Navy head coach Mike Schofield. "I think our depth prevailed in the second half and we got more active as the game went on."
Cort Jones led Navy with four goals while Paul Pedrotty added three tallies. Seven other players scored one goal each. Anthony Gutierrez started the contest in goal, registering four saves against five goals allowed. Tyler Barker came in during the second half and stopped two shots while allowing three goals.
In the day's second game, Navy was never threatened in its 19-6 win over a good La Verne team.
"We never really let them get going and our defense really did a nice job. They were having a hard time scoring," added Schofield. "They are a good team. They beat Santa Clara earlier this year and gave UC Davis all they could handle. We were kind of on them from the start. It was a really good effort for us."
Navy led 6-2 after one quarter and stretched the lead to 12-4 at halftime.
Pedrotty and Pat Seipp led Navy with three goals each. Tyler Thein, Thomas Patterson, Jesse Walker and Lucas MacLellan scored twice for the Midshipmen. Gutierrez stopped 10 shots in goal while allowing just two goals, while Barker made six saves with four goals allowed.
"It was nice to get all 18 guys significant playing time today and nice for these California guys to get home and play in front of a lot of family and friends," said Schofield. "We have two tough games tomorrow that we need to be ready to play."
Navy will face Claremont-Mudd-Scripps at 9:00 AM (PT) and then Redlands at 3:00 PM (PT). Both games will be played at Redlands.
# GO NAVY #
