PRINCETON, N.J. – The Navy water polo team (5-5, 1-0 MAWPC) split a double header on Saturday at Denunzio Pool in Princeton, N.J., defeating Wagner, 7-6, before being edged by No. 9 Princeton, 11-8. Caden Capobianco (Laguna Beach, Calif.) had a career day at goal, finishing the day with 27 saves and five steals in two games.
 
"We played well today," head coach Luis Nicolao said after the games. "We had a hard-fought game in the morning against Wagner that we were able to win. It was huge to get that first conference win. This afternoon, we battled a really tough Princeton team. We missed some opportunities against Princeton, but I am proud of how our guys continued to fight.
 
"Caden was outstanding at goal today. He kept the game close against Wagner and allowed us to generate some offense to come away with the win. Against Princeton, he continued to fight hard and he held tough against their solid offensive attack. Overall, I am proud of him and the rest of the team's efforts today. Now, we need to take this effort into tomorrow's game against Fordham."
 
Capobianco anchored the Midshipmen's strong defensive effort on the day. The sophomore opened the day with a career high 17 saves against Wagner, falling just three stops shy of tying the Navy school record. He was able to thwart a pair of 5-meter opportunities by the Seahawks as well as turning away two fast break chances by Wagner. In the second game of the day, Capobianco tallied 10 saves, holding the potent Princeton offense scoreless for the first quarter and a half of action. The Laguna Beach native also registered five steals on the day, notching three takeaways against the Seahawks and two versus the Tigers.
 
Offensively, seven Midshipmen combined for the team's 15 goals on the day. Senior team captain Isaac Salinas (Spring City, Pa.) paced the offensive attack with seven goals on the day. He opened the day with two goals, including the game-winning goal, against Wagner, while posting a season-high five scores against No. 9 Princeton. Hayden Kahn (San Clemente, Calif.) notched his first collegiate hat trick, finding the back of the net three times against the Seahawks. Will Clark (Laguna Beach, Calif.), Payton Comstock (Clarendon Hills, Ill.), Chris Kim (Los Angeles, Calif.), Tommy McKnew (Tiburon, Calif.), and Jack Weggeland (Riverside, Calif.) each notched goals on the day. For McKnew, it was his first goal of his Navy career.
 
Navy continues the road swing on Sunday morning as the Midshipmen take on No. 16 Fordham at 11:00 a.m. at the Col. Francis B. Messmore Aquatic Center in the Bronx, N.Y. The game will be live streamed on CWPA-TV.
 
Game 1 Recap: #20 Navy 7, Wagner 6
In the first game, the Midshipmen used a strong scoring performance by Kahn and excellent defense by Capobianco to earn their first Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference-East victory of the season.
 
Wagner was the first team to score, taking an early 1-0 lead. Kahn responded with his first goal of the day to knot the score at 1-1. The Seahawks followed with the next two goals to regain the advantage. Kim trimmed the deficit to one with a goal to cut the margin to 3-2 at the half.
 
In the second half, Navy used a pair of goals by Kahn to counter a score by Wagner and knot the score at 4-4. The two scores gave the sophomore his first collegiate hat trick. Salinas and McKnew found the back of the net to take a 6-4 advantage through three quarters of play. In the fourth, Salinas notched his second goal of the game to push the margin to three. Wagner scored the final two goals of the game, but Navy's defense was able to preserve the 7-6 victory.


In the game, Capobianco finished with a season-high 17 saves, falling just three stops shy of tying the Navy school record of 20 saves in a game.
 
Game 2 Recap: #9 Princeton 11, #20 Navy 8
In the second game of the day, the Navy defense once again shined early.
 
Capobianco and the defense held the Princeton offense scoreless for the first quarter and a half of action. During that time, Navy was able to jump out to a 4-0 advantage. Clark got the scoring started and Salinas recorded the first of his five scores in the game. Comstock completed the 4-0 run, burying the ball in the back of the net.
 
Princeton responded with seven straight goals to end the second quarter and start the second half. Salinas ended the run with a goal to close the third quarter, giving the senior captain his fourth hat trick of the season and 33rd of his career. The Tigers scored three of the next four goals to push the advantage to 10-6. Salinas trimmed the margin to two with back-to-back scores, but a goal by Princeton provided the final margin of 11-8.