ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy water polo team (6-4) hits the road for a pair of Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference games against La Salle (2-9) and Fordham (4-6) this weekend. The Mids open the weekend against the Explorers on Saturday at 5:00 p.m. in Philadelphia, before closing out the weekend against the Rams on Sunday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. in the Bronx, N.Y. Live video will be available for Navy's game against Fordham.
 
Last Time Out
Last weekend, Navy concluded the Bison Invitational, going 3-1 on the weekend. The Mids posted a 16-6 victory over La Salle and a 19-11 win against Salem on the first day of competition. Navy closed out the final day of play against Wagner (L, 8-6) and Mercyhurst (W, 16-9).
 
CWPA Rookie of the Week
Freshman Isaac Salinas (Spring City, Pa.) earned his second Rookie of the Week honor this season from the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA), helping Navy to a 3-1 record over the weekend at the Bison Invitational. Salinas led all Navy rookies with 11 points, scoring three goals and adding a team-high eight assists. He was second overall in points scored for the Mids behind Nate Reiff (Wheeling, Ill.), who tallied 15 points (8g 7a).
 
Players to Watch
Through 10 games this season, Navy has a quartet of players to reach double-digit scoring. Bobby Lee (Santa Ana, Calif.) leads the team with 22 goals scored, while Andrew Shashin (Buffalo Grove, Ill.) and Salinas each have 14 goals apiece. Reiff has also tallied 11 goals this season. Shashin leads the team with 28 total points, adding a team-high 14 assists.
 
Defensively, the Midshipmen have relied primarily on junior goalkeeper Ronan Williams (Severna Park, Md.) between the posts. He has recorded 68 saves on the year and a 52.3 save percentage in eight games.
 
Last Time vs. La Salle (Sept. 15, 2018)
Navy trailed 1-0 early in the game, but used a 4-0 run to take control of the game. Lee scored the first of his four goals to start the run. Jesse Hainze (Bellevue, Wash.) followed with his first goal of the year to close out the first quarter and put the Midshipmen in front 2-1. Reiff and Jack Weggeland (Riverside, Calif.) scored their first goals of the game to push the lead to 4-1. Following an Explorer goal, Lee responded with his second goal. La Salle closed the gap to 5-3, but Navy closed the half with a 4-1 run. On the run, Shashin led the way with a pair of goals, while Reiff and Kevin Volkov (Freehold, N.J.) also added scores.
 
In the second half, the Midshipmen used a 5-1 run in the third quarter to put the game out of reach. Reiff and Lee started the scoring with a goal apiece. The Explorers score, but Lee, Crawford Smith (Mechanicsburg, Pa.), and Volkov rattled off back-to-back-to-back goals to close out the quarter. La Salle opened the fourth quarter with a goal to make it 14-6, but Navy closed out the scoring with goals by Weggeland John Bernhardt (Annapolis, Md.).
 
Last Time vs. Fordham (Sept. 2, 2018)
In the Mids' final game of the 2018 Navy Open, the Midshipmen jumped out to an early lead on Fordham and hung on for an 8-7 victory. The win against Fordham was the first for Navy since 2015, snapping a four-game skid against the Rams.
 
The Midshipmen used a 3-0 run in the second quarter to take the lead, which they never relinquished. The Mids were led by Lee who netted four goals in the contest. Shashin put forth a multi-goal effort, netting two. Williams finished the game with 15 saves, while surrendering just seven goals. For the weekend, Williams notched 41 stops at goal en route to a pair of victories.