, ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy water polo team (12-8, 4-2 MAWPC-East) dropped a pair of games by a combined three goals on Saturday at Scott Natatorium. The Midshipmen started the day getting edged by La Salle, 10-8, before closing the day with a one-goal loss, 11-10, to No. 15 Bucknell.
"You never like to lose, but sometimes it happens," head coach
Luis Nicolao said. "We weren't particularly sharp to start the day. Credit to La Salle. They were fired up and ready to play. They earned the win. I thought we came back for the second game with a lot more determination and passion. We played our butts off against Bucknell. We came close, but we came up just short. We need to regroup, make some corrections and get ready for the next one."
On the day, Navy was led by freshman
Jake Altmayer (Pasadena, Calif.). The rookie finished the day with seven total points to pace the team. He posted a team-high four assists against La Salle, while posting a pair of goals and an assist for a team-best three points against Bucknell.
Isaac Salinas (Spring City, Pa.) led the team with three goals against the Bison. Salinas also notched a goal against La Salle for four points on the day.
Bobby Lee (Santa Ana, Calif.) and
Zach Luci (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) chipped in a pair of goals apiece versus the Bison, while
Trevor Clark (San Marcos, Calif.) led the team with two goals against the Explorers in game one.
Defensively,
Max Sandberg (Newport Beach, Calif.) played nearly the entirety of the two games. The sophomore finished the day with 15 saves, three steals, and a pair of missed shots. Sandberg started the day with seven saves against La Salle, working nearly the entire game between the pipes. He gave way to senior
Brandon Shields (Lake Forest, Calif.) who finished the game with a save and no goals allowed. In the second game, Sandberg tallied eight saves against the nationally ranked Bison with a pair of steals to his credit in a complete-game effort.
Navy returns to action next Saturday as the Midshipmen travel to the Bronx, N.Y. for a game against Fordham. Game time is slated for 11:00 a.m. at the Col. Francis B. Messmore Aquatic Center
Game 1 Recap: La Salle 10, Navy 8
In game one, Navy opened the scoring with a goal from T. Clark to go up 1-0. La Salle tied the game on the next possession and took its first lead of the game with just under four minutes to play in the first quarter. Neither team was able to find the back of the net the remainder of the quarter finishing the first with the Explorers in front, 2-1.
In the second quarter, Salinas wasted little time tying the game with his first goal of the day. T. Clark followed with the go-ahead goal off an assist by
Cole Jacobs (Naperville, Ill.). La Salle one again knotted the score, but
Will Clark (Laguna Beach, Calif.) responded to give Navy the lead. After an Explorer goal,
Jack Weggeland (Riverside, Calif.) gave Navy the lead once more. Jacobs pushed the lead to two, picking up a loose ball off a missed shot and firing it past the goalie. La Salle scored with just under minute to play in the quarter to end the third with Navy in front 6-5.
The third quarter was all Explorers as the visitors used a 3-0 period to tie the game and then take a two-goal advantage into the final quarter of play.
Shashin ended the La Salle run with a goal to cut the margin to one, 8-7, however, the Explorers answered with back-to-back goals to go up by three.
Bobby Wall (San Mateo, Calif.) closed out the scoring with a goal to provide the final score of 10-8.
Game 2 Recap: No. 15 Bucknell 11, Navy 10
In the second game, the nationally ranked visitors jumped out to a 4-0 lead before Lee broke the Mids' scoreless drought. The Bison responded with a goal to close out the first quarter in front 5-1. Bucknell opened the second quarter with a goal before Luci found the back of the net. The rookie's goal sparked a 3-0 run to close the half. Altmayer followed with a goal, while
Andrew Shashin (Buffalo Grove, Ill.) fired in a strike to send the game into halftime with Navy down, 6-4.
Salinas opened the scoring in the second half with his first goal of the game, closing the margin to 6-5. Following a Bucknell goal, Salinas was able to find the back of the goal to pull Navy to within one. The Bison answered with two goals to end the quarter and began the fourth quarter with a goal to extend the advantage to 10-6. Salinas' shot was once again true to end the Bucknell run. The Bison scored to push the lead back to four goals. Lee trimmed the margin back to three. Altmayer and Luci followed with back-to-back goals to cut the score to one, 11-10, but Navy ran out of time.
