PRINCETON, N.J. – The Navy water polo team (5-4) split a pair of games on Sunday morning on the final day of the Princeton Invitational. The Midshipmen dropped a 17-10 decision against No. 12 Harvard in the morning game, but posted a dramatic 15-13 victory over Santa Clara in overtime in the final game of the tournament.
 
In the second game, Navy and Santa Clara traded goals back and forth throughout the whole game with neither team taking more than a two-goal advantage. The two teams finished regulation tied 12-12. In overtime, Cole Jacobs (Naperville, Ill.) broke the tie with a goal and Trevor Clark (San Marcos, Calif.) followed with goal to give Navy a 14-12 advantage. Santa Clara closed the gap with a goal, but Isaac Salinas (Spring City, Pa.) scored to give the Mids a two-goal edge as the overtime period ran out.
 
"Wow, what a weekend of games," head coach Luis Nicolao said after Sunday's games. "We finished 2-2 on the weekend. The team battled hard all weekend and we were competitive in every game that we played. Losing is not fun, but it happens. As long as we compete and battle to the end, I am proud of the team and we did that this weekend. The team showed no quit and a ton of fight against Santa Clara. It was back and forth the whole game and then I thought the guys showed a lot of heart getting the win in overtime. We can definitely use this moving forward this season."
 
Navy returns to action on Friday, Sept. 20 as the Midshipmen return to Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference play with a road game at La Salle (5:00 p.m.). The Mids continue the road swing in Princeton, N.J. against Wagner (2:00 p.m.) in a MAWPC game played on Saturday, Sept. 21. The Midshipmen conclude the weekend with a nonconference game at Princeton (6:00 p.m.) on Saturday, Sept. 21.
 
Game 1 Recap: No. 12 Harvard 17, Navy 10
In the first game of the morning, the Midshipmen took on the nationally-ranked Crimson. The two teams played even for the first half, but Harvard took advantage of Navy miscues in the second half to earn the victory.
 
Nine different players scored for Navy against Harvard, including Salinas who paced the team with two goals.
 
Salinas started the scoring, putting the Mids up 1-0 early in the first quarter. Following a Harvard goal, Salinas buried a five-meter opportunity to give Navy the lead back. Peter Hillen (Orinda, Calif.) pushed the lead to two with a goal, but the Crimson responded. Will Clark (Laguna Beach, Calif.) extended the lead to two scores, but Harvard closed the quarter with a goal to cut the Navy lead to 4-3.
 
In the second quarter, Harvard tied the game, but T. Clark regained the advantage for Navy with a quick-strike goal. Jack Weggeland (Riverside, Calif.) put the Mids up 6-5 just before the half, but the Crimson found the back of the net and the two teams went into halftime knotted at six.
 
The second half saw the nationally-ranked Crimson rattle off four straight goals to take a 10-6 lead. Kevin Volkov (Freehold, N.J.) ended the run with a goal and Zach Luci (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) followed by finding the back of the net to cut the deficit to two. Harvard responded with a goal, but Cole Jacobs (Naperville, Ill.) fed Bobby Lee (Santa Ana, Calif.) the ball and the junior buried it in back of the net for his first score. The Crimson extended the advantage to 12-9 to end the third quarter.
 
In the fourth quarter, Harvard put the game out of reach. The nationally-ranked Crimson outscored the Midshipmen 5-1, including a 4-0 run to start the period. Freshman John Nelligan (Wayne, Pa.) provided the only goal of the quarter for the Mids, as Navy dropped the 17-10 decision
 
Game 2 Recap: Navy 15, Santa Clara 13 (OT)
In the second game, Salinas led the team with four goals, while Weggeland, Hillen, and Andrew Shashin (Buffalo Grove, Ill.) each added to goals apiece. Five different players added assists in the game.
 
Defensively, Max Sandberg (Newport Beach, Calif.) worked a complete game at goal. The sophomore surrendered 13 goals, while notching 10 saves in the contest. Sandberg tied Jacobs with a team-high four steals.
 
Santa Clara jumped out to an early 2-0 lead before Will Clark (Laguna Beach, Calif.) and Salinas tied the score at 2-2. Weggeland and Luci gave Navy a two-goal edge, but the Broncos responded with a goal. Salinas increased the advantage to 5-3, but back-to-back scores by Santa Clara knotted the game. Weggeland found the back of the net to give Navy a 6-5 advantage at halftime.
 
In the second half, the Broncos tied the score at six, but consecutive goals by Hillen and Jake Altmayer (Pasadena, Calif.) gave the Midshipmen a two-goal edge. Salinas added a score to give Navy a 9-8 lead and Hillen scored to push the margin to 10-8. Santa Clara responded with three straight goals to take an 11-10 lead, but Shashin ended the third quarter with a game-tying goal. Santa Clara regained the lead 12-11 just 30 seconds into the fourth quarter, but Shashin once again knotted the game with a goal. The game remained 12-12 until overtime.
 
In overtime, Jacobs broke the tie with a goal and Clark followed with goal to give Navy a 14-12 advantage. Santa Clara closed the gap with a goal, but Salinas scored to give the Mids a two-goal edge as the overtime period ran out.