ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy water polo team (11-11, 6-2 MAWPC East) split a day-night doubleheader on Saturday at Lejeune Hall in Annapolis. The Midshipmen opened the day with a 17-13 victory over Wagner (13-15, 3-6) before closing out the day, being edged 10-9 by No. 15 Fordham (21-5, 10-1).
 
"We played well today," head coach Luis Nicolao said. "We didn't get two wins like we wanted, but we got one and we played well enough to win the second. I am proud of our guys for how hard they have been working the past few weeks. We can't dwell on today for too long because we have to play Bucknell on the road tomorrow morning."
 
Navy tallied 26 goals on the day. The team was led by Hayden Kahn (San Clemente, Calif.) who finished the day with 10 goals and a pair of hat tricks. The sophomore has four hat tricks on the season, including three consecutive games with a hat trick. Isaac Salinas (Spring City, Pa.) concluded the day with five goals, while Tommy McKnew (Tiburon, Calif.) added three and Jake Altmayer (Pasadena, Calif.) chipped in a pair. Will Clark (Laguna Beach, Calif.) and Ivan Pang (El Monte, Calif.) paced the team with four assists apiece.
 
Caden Capobianco (Laguna Beach, Calif.) worked both games for the Midshipmen between the posts. The sophomore finished the day with 27 saves, eight steals, and 23 goals allowed. He finished the first game with 15 stops and four steals before closing the day with 12 saves and an additional four steals.
 
Navy continues the busy weekend with a game on Sunday morning as the Midshipmen travel to Lewisburg, Pa. for a conference game against Bucknell. The game is slated for 10:00 a.m.
 
Following the four-game weekend, Navy will play three games next weekend to close out the regular season. The Midshipmen host two conference foes – Johns Hopkins (3:00 p.m.) and George Washington (8:00 p.m.) – on Saturday, Nov. 13 before traveling to Emmitsburg, Md. for a Sunday tilt with Mount St. Mary's (12:00 p.m.) on Nov. 14. Each home game will be live streamed through CWPATV.
 
Game 1 Recap: Navy 17, Wagner 13
In the first game of the day, Navy posted a 17-13 victory over Wagner.
 
Six Midshipmen combined for 17 goals. Kahn led the way with a career-high seven goals for his second hat trick in the last two games. Salinas added four goals, while Altmayer and McKnew added two scores apiece. Clark paced the team with four assists, while Altmayer and Pang were next on the team with two helpers each.
 
At goal, Capobianco earned the win with a complete-game effort. The sophomore registered 15 saves with four steals, while surrendering 13 goals. The keeper added an assist, while registering a shot.
 
In the first quarter, the Seahawks opened the scoring with a quick goal, but Kahn responded with his first goal of the game. Salinas converted a five-meter attempt to give the Midshipmen their first lead of the morning. Following a Wagner goal, Michael Heller (Menlo Park, Calif.) gave Navy the lead with a goal, scoring on the drive. The visitors tied the game just before the end of the quarter to put the score at 3-3 through the first period.
 
The second quarter was nearly all Navy. McKnew was the first to score for the Midshipmen in the quarter off an assist from Clark. Wagner converted a five-meter attempt to tie the game at four, but three straight goals by Navy gave the Mids a lead they would not relinquish. Salinas opened the run and Kahn followed with back-to-back scores to give him his third career hat trick. The Seahawks used a second five-meter opportunity to close the gap, but Jack Weggeland (Riverside, Calif.) closed out the half with a laser from the outside.
 
The two teams matched each other goal for goal in the third quarter. Altmayer scored a pair of goals for Navy, while Wagner scored on its third five-meter opportunity. Following a Seahawks game, McKnew found the back of the net for the second time. Consecutive scores for Wagner pulled the score to 11-9, but Kahn came up big, pushing through the defense for the goal. The visitors responded, but once again Kahn answered. Trailing by three, Wagner used two goals to close the gap to one, but Kahn and Salinas answered with back-to-back scores to close the quarter with Navy in front 15-12.
 
Salinas and Kahn each scored in the fourth quarter to push the advantage to 17-12 before the Seahawks scored to make it 17-13 with just under five and a half minutes to play. The Navy defense held Wagner out of the goal for the remainder of the game, earning the four-goal victory.
 
Game 2 Recap: #15 Fordham 10, Navy 9
In the second game, Navy battled hard against No. 15 Fordham, but came up just short, dropping a one-goal decision, 10-9.
 
Eight different Midshipmen scored during the game. Kahn led the way with this third consecutive hat trick, finishing with a team-high three goals. McKnew, Salinas, Weggeland, Nathan Duchez (San Jose, Calif.), Peter Hillen (Orinda, Calif.), and Merle Richman (La Jolla, Calif.) each contributed goals against the Rams. Pang led the team with two of Navy's five assists.
 
Capobianco was once again at goal for the Mids. He finished the game with 12 saves, four steals, and 10 goals surrendered.
 
Fordham opened the game with three straight goals to take an early 3-0 lead. Salinas broke up the run, converting a five-meter attempt to put Navy on the scoreboard. Duchez followed with a goal to close the gap at the end of the first quarter.
 
In the second, the Rams once again started the quarter with a goal. Kahn followed with his first of the game to pull the Mids to within one. The visitors regained a two-goal edge with a goal, but Weggeland narrowed the gap to one, 5-4, heading into the half.
 
The Rams pushed their advantage to two goals in the third quarter. Fordham scored to make the game 6-4, but Hillen countered with a goal to trim the margin back to one. With just under a minute to play in the quarter, Fordham snuck a ball past the keeper to extend the edge to 7-5.
 
In the fourth quarter, Kahn trimmed the margin to one with his second goal, but the Rams answered with a goal. Richman fired a laser into the back of the net, but a lob by Fordham kept the game a two-possession contest. McKnew took a beautiful pass in front of the goal and buried it in the back of the net to once again close the gap to one. However, the Rams once again responded in kind. Kahn completed his hat trick with a goal to pull the Mids to within one, 10-9, with 68 ticks on the clock. The Fordham defense was able to turn away any Navy opportunity to tie the game.