BRONX, N.Y. – The Navy water polo team (14-13) dropped a 15-8 decision in the opening round of the Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference Championship to tournament-host Fordham (16-14) on Friday evening at the Col. Francis B. Messmore Aquatic Center in the Bronx, N.Y.
 
"Obviously, this was not the outcome we hoped for," head coach Luis Nicolao said after the game. "The team came out strong and had a lead, but Fordham is a good team and they played well in front of the hometown crowd. They were able to get some momentum and take advantage of some of our mistakes. This one is over. We have to put it behind us and get ready to take on La Salle tomorrow."
 
Navy was led offensively by Jesse Hainze (Bellevue, Wash.) and Bobby Lee (Santa Ana, Calif.) who finished with two goals apiece. Nate Reiff (Wheeling, Ill.), Isaac Salinas (Spring City, Pa.), Andrew Shashin (Buffalo Grove, Ill.), and Jack Weggeland (Riverside, Calif.) each chipped in a goal apiece.
 
Defensively, the Mids saw three goalies between the pipes. Ronan Williams (Severna Park, Md.) earned the start, but gave way to Max Sandberg (Newport Beach, Calif.) in the second quarter. Francis Kim (Houston, Texas) came in to work the fourth quarter for the Mids. The trio combined for 11 saves, including six by Sandberg.
 
Fordham jumped out to a quick lead 30 seconds into the first quarter. Salinas knotted the score with 5:34 remaining in the first quarter. With four minutes to play in the opening stanza, the Rams regained the lead, but Hainze netted his first goal of the contest to even the score at two. Navy took its first lead of the game with a goal from Shashin, but back-to-back goals by Fordham gave the home team a 4-3 advantage after one quarter of play.
 
The Rams continued their run with three straight goals to open the second quarter, taking a 7-3 lead with six minutes to play in the half. Hainze briefly ended the run with his second goal of the night, but Fordham added a score to go into halftime up 8-4.
 
In the second half, Fordham extended its lead to 10-4 before Weggeland found the back of the net for Navy. Lee buried a pair of goals into the cage in the third quarter, but the Midshipmen trailed 15-7 through three quarters.
 
In the fourth quarter, defense limited the two teams to just one goal combined. The Midshipmen used a goal from Reiff to provide the final score of 15-8.
 
Navy continues play in the 2018 MAWPC Tournament on Saturday, Nov. 17, as the Midshipmen take on La Salle (2-21) at 1:30 p.m. at the Col. Francis B. Messmore Aquatic Center in the Bronx, N.Y.
 
MAWPC Tournament Schedule
Friday, November 16
Game 1 – 3:00 p.m. – (1) Bucknell 21, (8) La Salle 6
Game 2 – 4:30 p.m. – (4) Fordham 15, (5) Navy 8
Game 3 – 6:00 p.m. – (2) George Washington 16, (7) McKendree 6
Game 4 – 7:30 p.m. – (3) Wagner 9, (6) Johns Hopkins 7
 
Saturday, November 17
Game 5 – 1:30 p.m. – (8) La Salle vs. (5) Navy
Game 6 – 3:00 p.m. – (7) McKendree vs. (6) Johns Hopkins
Game 7 – 4:30 p.m. – (1) Bucknell vs. (4) Fordham
Game 8 – 6:00 p.m. – (2) George Washington vs. (3) Wagner
 
Sunday, November 18
7th Place Game – 9:00 a.m. – Loser Game 5 vs. Loser Game 6
5th Place Game – 10:30 a.m. – Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6
3rd Place Game – 12:00 p.m. – Loser Game 7 vs. Loser Game 8
Championship Game – 1:30 p.m. – Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8