LEWISBURG, Pa. – The Navy water polo team (13-11, 5-5 MAWPC) dropped a 15-7 decision to No. 16 Bucknell (19-6, 10-1) in Lewisburg, Pa. in the final regular season road game of the year. The Midshipmen close out the regular season with a pair of home games against Johns Hopkins and George Washington next weekend.
 
"They're good," head coach Luis Nicolao said after the game. "We had some opportunities in the game, but weren't able to capitalize. Against a team like Bucknell, you have to play nearly perfect and we weren't able to do that today. Throughout the year, we have continued to improve and get better. We need to learn from this game and take the lessons into the final regular season games next weekend."
 
Navy scored seven goals on 25 shots with seven different players scoring goals in the game with Jake Haines (Ashburn, Va.), William Lowdon (Hillsborough, Calif.), Nate Reiff (Wheeling, Ill.), Isaac Salinas (Spring City, Pa.), Andrew Shashin (Buffalo Grove, Ill.), Kevin Volkov (Freehold, N.J.), and Jack Weggeland (Riverside, Calif.) all finding the back of the net.
 
Ronan Williams (Severna Park, Md.) and Brandon Shields (Lake Forest, Calif.) shared duties at goal for the Midshipmen. Williams saw a majority of the action, recording six saves, while Shields tallied three stops.
 
Bucknell jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first quarter before Weggeland ended the Bison run with a goal. Shashin closed out the quarter with a goal to close the gap to 6-2. The home team added a pair of goals in the second quarter, but Haines netted a goal with 49 seconds remaining to send the game into halftime with the Bison leading 8-3.
 
Salinas scored to open the third quarter, but Bucknell responded with a pair of goals. Navy got a goal from Reiff, but the home team used a 3-0 run to take a 13-5 lead. Volkov ended the run with a buzzer beater to close out the third quarter. The Bison outscored the Mids, 2-1, in the final quarter with Lowdon scoring the goal for the Midshipmen.
 
Navy returns to action on Saturday, Nov. 10 as the Midshipmen host Johns Hopkins (3:00 p.m.) George Washington (8:00 p.m.) at Scott Natatorium in Annapolis, Md.