BALTIMORE & WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Navy water polo team split a pair of games on its first day of CWPA Southern divisional play on Wednesday. After suffering an 11-9 setback at No. 17 Johns Hopkins in a 4 p.m. matchup, the Mids traveled down the B-W Parkway and came back at 8 p.m. and beat George Washington, 18-14.

Robert Sutherland (Sr., Denton, Texas), Carl Dowzicky (Sr., Collegeville, Pa.) and David Huber (Jr., Fort Washington, Pa.) led Navy's offensive attack with 19 of the teams 27 total goals on the day. Sutherland recorded a team-high eight goals with six coming at George Washington, while Dowzicky and Huber had goal totals of six and five, respectively.

No. 17 Johns Hopkins 11 - Navy 9

A hard-fought back-and-back game between two evenly matched teams was decided by a late third quarter goal by the Blue Jays with just one second showing on the scoreboard. A quiet fourth quarter by the Mids would make the one-goal lead stand up over the final eight minutes of play at the Newton White Aquatic Center.

The contest between Johns Hopkins and Navy began with three straight goals by the Mids over 4:53. Huber netted two of the three scores with tallies at 7:32 and 3:07. Sutherland recorded Navy's second goal during that span at 5:50. From the 2:32 to 1:21 mark, the Blue Jays scored three unanswered goals to tie up the contest. A Carpenter Warren (Sr., Baltimore, Md.) goal on the next possession helped Navy retake the lead going into the first intermission.

With the score 4-3, Huber extended the Mids' lead back out to two with the first goal of the second quarter at 7:15. A 2-0 run by Johns Hopkins between 6:10 and 5:48 re-tied the game at 5-5. The teams traded single goals down the stretch of the period to make it 6-6 at the break. Dowzicky netted Navy's marker.

After halftime, the Blue Jays opened with two straight goals before the Mids quickly responded with two scores of their own. Sutherland scored at 4:14 before Steven Emde (Sr., Ballwin, Mo.) netted Navy's eighth goal at 2:45. The back-and-forth action continued over the final two minutes of the third period as John Hopkins scored at 1:57 and Navy at 0:15 with a Dowzicky goal. The eventual game-winner was scored by the Blue Jays right before the close of the quarter with one second remaining.

Up 10-9, Johns Hopkins gained a bit of insurance with the only goal of the fourth quarter at 5:07. Navy kept up its attack as the time dwindled, but was unable to find the back of the net as the game went final at 11-9.

Navy 18 - George Washington 14

With less than three hours in between games, the Mids changed the dynamic of their day with a quick start to their 8 p.m. matchup in Washington, D.C. versus George Washington. A 3-1 start over the first three-plus minutes of play at the Smith Center Natatorium gave Navy an initial lead that would stand up over the length of the game. Matt Skowronski (So., Oak Hill, Va.) netted two goals for the Mids over this span, while Sutherland scored the other goal. After the Colonials tightened the game to a one-goal margin at 3-2 at the 4:09 mark, the Mids recorded back-to-back markers courtesy of Dowzicky and Huber. A late George Washington goal with 20 seconds remaining made it 5-3 at the end of the first quarter.

The frenetic offensive pace continue into the second period as Navy extended its lead out to four goals at 7-3 when Kyle Koenig (Sr., Atherton, Calif.) and Sutherland scored consecutive tallies within 27 seconds of each other. The Colonials and Mids traded goals to keep it at a four-goal margin. Sutherland was Navy's goal scorer at 3:56. Once again, George Washington netted the final score of the period to make it 8-5 at halftime.

An explosive opening 58 seconds of play in the third quarter saw the Mids expand their lead to five goals at 10-5. In consecutive possessions, Dowzicky factored in scores as he first beat George Washington's goalie at 7:28 before setting up a one-timer from Huber at 7:02. Dowzicky was back at it at 5:53 with his third goal of the game to give Navy a six-goal lead. After the Colonials scored two goals, four straight tallies by the Mids closed out the period with the score 15-7. The senior quartet of Sutherland, Dowzicky, Warren and Koenig all scored during the run on goals.

A lull in play of the first five minutes of fourth quarter action turned Navy's eight-goal lead into a much closer 15-12 contest. Led by a pair of Sutherland markers down the stretch, the Mids made sure they would secure a comfortable four-goal win at 18-14.

"We showed what we are capable of doing on both ends of the spectrum today," remarked head coach Mladen Stanicic after completing the day's action. "We started well and showed what we are capable of doing when functioning effectively up at Hopkins, but we also showed what kind of silly mistakes we can do to keep teams in games. We have some things to work on before Bucknell this weekend, but some very encouraging things can be taken from today too.

"Individually, kudos to Robert [Sutherland] and Carl [Dowzicky]. They both played quite well and were all over the score sheets, but they also showed some important leadership in the water."

Navy will next be in action on Sunday with a 4 p.m. matchup at Bucknell in Lewisburg, Pa.