PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – The Navy water polo team (7-4, 1-1 MAWPC) picked up its first Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference win of the season on Saturday afternoon with a 15-10 victory at La Salle (2-11, 0-3) at Kirk Pool in Philadelphia, Pa.
 
"It is always great to get the first conference win of the season," head coach Luis Nicolao said after the game. "The team came out and played hard. We continue to get better and I am so happy that the hard work and effort everyone has put in this season is paying off on game day. I expect us to continue the hard work and intensity as we play Fordham tomorrow."
 
Navy received an outstanding offensive performance from sophomore Bobby Lee (Santa Ana, Calif.) and freshman Isaac Salinas (Spring City, Pa.). The duo each finished the game with five goals apiece. Lee also added an assist, while Salinas chipped in a team-high two helpers. Andrew Shashin (Buffalo Grove, Ill.) netted a pair of goals, while Crawford Smith (Mechanicsburg, Pa.), Nate Reiff (Wheeling, Ill.), and Cole Jacobs (Naperville, Ill.) rounded out the scoring.
 
Defensively, Ronan Williams (Severna Park, Md.) and Max Sandberg (Newport Beach, Calif.) split time at goal. Williams led the way with five saves with Sandberg adding three stops. Shashin had a team-high eight ejections drawn on the day, while Jake Haines (Ashburn, Va.) boasted a team-best two steals.
 
Navy opened up the scoring with a 3-0 run to take control of the game early. Lee rattled off back-to-back scores ahead of a Shashin goal to put the Mids in front by three. La Salle responded with a pair of goals, but the Midshipmen answered with three of the next four goals. Shashin (two goals) and Shashin combined for three goals to push the lead to 6-3. The home team used a pair of scores to close the gap to one, but Smith found the back of the net to give Navy a 7-5 lead at halftime.
 
The second half began with the two teams trading goals in the third quarter. All three of Navy's goals in the third quarter came from Lee, giving the Midshipmen a 10-8 edge heading to the final frame. Reiff started the final quarter with a goal to push the advantage back to three goals. Following a La Salle goal, Navy closed the game by scoring four of the final five goals of the game. Salinas and Jacobs notched back-to-back goals to extend the advantage to 13-9. Salinas closed out the game with the final two goals to provide the final margin of victory, 15-10.
 
Navy returns to action on Sunday, Sept. 23, as the Midshipmen continue the conference weekend at Fordham in the Bronx, N.Y. The game is slated for 3:00 p.m. and live video will be available.