ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy water polo team (6-8, 1-2) was edged in a pair of Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference matchups on Sunday. The Mids started the day at George Washington (13-1, 3-0), falling 14-12, before falling 15-14 to Wagner (5-10, 1-4) in the second game of the double header at Scott Natatorium in Annapolis.
"We weren't able to get it done today," head coach
Luis Nicolao said. "We have to find a way to finish. Every team in this conference is capable of winning and we have to do a better job of limiting opportunities, while also creating chances for ourselves if we want to win. We weren't able to do that today."
Offensively, the Midshipmen finished the two-game set with 26 goals and 19 assists for 45 total points.
Jake Altmayer (Pasadena, Calif.) and
Nathan Duchez (San Jose, Calif.) led the charge with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Altmayer finished the day with five goals and six assists for 11 total points, while Duchez led the way with eight goals and a pair of helpers for 10 points.
Will Clark added eight points on a balanced four goals and four assists during the day.
Henry Williams (San Diego, Calif.) posted two goals and two assists for four points, while
Hayden Kahn (San Clemente, Calif.) and
Kyle Yelensky (Stamford, Conn.) added two goals apiece.
Peter Hillen (Orinda, Calif. – 1g 1a) and
Graham Lindner (Bel Air, Md. – 0g 2a) added two points each.
Travis Berzins (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) and
Connor Simpson (San Rafael, Calif.) added scores, while
Caden Capobianco (Laguna Beach, Calif.) and
Tommy McKnew (Tiburon, Calif.) added assists.
Defensively, Capobianco recorded 15 saves on the day with eight steals to his credit. The junior notched eight stops in the opener against No. 19 George Washington, before adding seven stops against Wagner in the night cap. Capobianco notched five steals against the Colonials, while picking off three balls against the Seahawks.
Navy returns to action next weekend as the Midshipmen head to Morgantown, W.Va. for four games in the CWPA Crossover Weekend. The Midshipmen will square off against Gannon (Saturday, 2:40 p.m.), Mercyhurst (Saturday, 6:40 p.m.), McKendree (Sunday, 11:40 a.m.), and Salem (Sunday, 3:40 p.m.).
Game 1 Recap: #19 George Washington 14, Navy 12
In the first game, Navy battled, but were unable to overtake No. 19 George Washington.
Kahn opened the scoring with a goal, but back-to-back scores by George Washington gave the home team a 2-1 lead through one quarter of play.
In the second quarter, GW extended its advantage to 3-1, however, Duchez closed the gap to one with a score. The Colonials pushed the edge to two, but Clark responded to trim the margin to one. George Washington scored a pair of goals around a Clark score to end the half 6-4.
Duchez scored the first goal of the second half, pulling the Midshipmen to within one, 6-5. However, the Colonials scored back-to-back goals to push the edge to 8-5. Once again, Duchez responded, but consecutive goals by GW pushed the home team's advantage to 10-6 through three quarters
In the second half, the home team extended its advantage to 13-6 before Duchez snapped the George Washington scoring streak. Duchez added another to pull Navy to within five.
Kyle Yelensky (Stamford, Conn.) found the back of the net to bring the Mids to within four, 13-9. Following a GW goal, Duchez and Williams both dented the twin to cut the margin to 14-11. Duchez scored as time expired to provide the final margin of 14-12.
Game 2 Recap: Wagner 15, Navy 14
In the second game of the day, the Midshipmen were edged, 15-14, by Wagner. The game was back and forth with the visiting Seahawks finding a way to pull out the one-goal victory.
Altmayer opened the scoring with his first goal of the game, but Wagner was able to knot the score at 1-1. Back-to-back scores from Altmayer put Navy in front 3-1 and gave the senior team captain a hat trick in the first quarter. The Seahawks responded with four straight scores, but Berzins ended the run with a goal to end the first quarter with Navy trailing 5-4.
In the second quarter, Hillen scored a goal to knot the score at 5-5. Navy regained the lead as Clark was able to find the back of the goal. Following a Seahawks goal, Simpson gave the Mids the advantage once again. Altmayer extended the advantage to 8-5 with a score, but Wagner closed the half with a goal to close the gap to one.
The Seahawks netted consecutive goals to regain the lead, 9-8, but Clark recorded the equalizer to tie the game at nine. Duchez found the back of the net to give Navy the advantage, but consecutive scores by Wagner put the visitors in front 11-10. Yelensky tied the game at 11, but the Seahawks regained the lead to close out the third quarter.
In the fourth, Wagner pushed its advantage to two, but Altmayer and Williams responded with goals to knot the game at 13-13. Following a Wagner score, Kahn knotted the game at 14 midway through the final quarter of play. The Seahawks scored with 3:29 remaining to regain the lead. Neither team was able to score over the final three and a half minutes with Wagner edging Navy, 15-14.
