LOS ANGELES, Calif. – The Navy water polo team (11-6) dropped a 16-9 decision to No. 10 Loyola Marymount (6-7) on Sunday afternoon at the Burns Aquatics Center in Los Angeles, Calif. The Midshipmen conclude their California trip, claiming four wins in five games.
"Today was a tough one, but I am proud of this team's resilience," head coach
Luis Nicolao said after the game. "The team battled and never gave up. Loyola (Marymount) is a very good team. Overall, we had a great trip to California. We went undefeated at the Gary Troyer (Tournament) and last night we had an awesome social event in Newport with our team, alumni, family, and fans. We are ready to head back east and get ready to continue conference play."
Isaac Salinas (Spring City, Pa.) led the team with a hat trick, scoring three of the Midshipmen's nine goals on the day. Six different Mids added goals on the day.
Bobby Lee (Santa Ana, Calif.) paced the offense with a pair of assists.
Defensively,
Max Sandberg (Newport Beach, Calif.) worked a complete game at goal. The sophomore recorded nine saves against the top 10 opponent, while adding a steal.
In the first quarter, Loyola Marymount opened the scoring with a quick strike, but
Jack Weggeland (Riverside, Calif.) responded with a goal. The Lions countered with a 4-0 run to close the first quarter, taking a 5-1 advantage.
Will Clark (Laguna Beach, Calif.) ended the run, starting the second quarter with a Midshipmen goal. LMU answered, but Salinas countered with his first goal of the contest. The Lions increased their lead to five goals before
Zach Luci (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) scored to trim the margin. The nationally-ranked Loyola Marymount pushed the advantage to 11-4, before
Cole Jacobs (Naperville, Ill.) buried a pass from Lee into the back of the net.
In the third quarter, No. 10 LMU extended the advantage to 13-5 before Salinas posted his second goal of the game.
Trevor Clark (San Marcos, Calif.) and
Andrew Shashin (Buffalo Grove, Ill.) scored back-to-back goals to make the score 15-8 through three quarters.
Navy started the final quarter of the game with Salinas winning the opening sprint. Salinas was able to find the back of the net for the hat trick. LMU provided the final score with a goal to make the game 16-9.
Navy returns to action on Friday, Oct. 11, as the Midshipmen resume conference play at Johns Hopkins at 7:00 p.m. in Baltimore, Md. The Mids take on La Salle (12:00 p.m.) and Bucknell (6:00 p.m.) in Annapolis on Sunday in MAWPC-East action.
