BRONX, N.Y. – The Navy water polo team (14-15) opened up competition in the 2022 Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference Tournament, splitting a pair of games at the Col. Francis B. Messmore Aquatic Center in the Bronx, N.Y. The sixth-seeded Midshipmen began the day with a 21-9 victory over 11-seed Mercyhurst (3-21) before dropping an 8-6 decision to the No. 3 seed Bucknell (15-14) in the nightcap.
 
Navy returns to action on Saturday afternoon as the Midshipmen take on 10th-seeded Johns Hopkins (11-23) at 3:40 p.m.
 
"Today was disappointing," head coach Luis Nicolao said. "We played well, but we weren't able to get two wins like I had hoped. We started out really well against Mercyhurst. We were able to get everyone into the game and received contributions from a bunch of people. In the second game, we played well enough to win defensively, but we just weren't able to score enough to beat Bucknell. The good thing is we have two games remaining this weekend so we can end the season on a high note with a couple of wins."
 
Offensively, the Midshipmen tallied 27 goals with 24 assists on the day for 51 total points. Michael Heller (Menlo Park, Calif.) led the team with five points on four goals and an assist. Erik Nordquist (San Diego, Calif.) tied Heller with a team-high four goals for four points. Additionally, Will Clark (Laguna Beach, Calif.), Jake Altmayer (Pasadena, Calif.), and Ivan Pang (El Monte, Calif.) chipped in four points apiece. Clark finished with two goals and two assists, while Altmayer and Pang scored a goal with a team-high three helpers each. Tiernan Brunner (Timonium, Md.) scored three goals, while Rory Begin (Bakersfield, Calif.) tallied his three points with a goal and two assists. Travis Berzins (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.), Tommy McKnew (Tiburon, Calif.), and Connor Simpson (San Rafael, Calif.) netted a pair of goals apiece, while Jacques Dutton (Yorba Linda, Calif.), Kyle Faison (Goleta, Calif.), Liam McInerney (Annapolis, Md.), and Holden Seybold (Aliso Viejo, Calif.) scored a goal and added an assist apiece, while Cole McKechnie (Laguna Beach, Calif.) finished with two points on a pair of helpers. Graham Lindner (Bel Air, Md.) scored a goal, while Jamie Cassidy (Greenwich, Conn.), Nathan Duchez (San Jose, Calif.), Owen Gurich (Long Beach, Calif.), Jack Hightower (San Diego, Calif.), Hayden Kahn (San Clemente, Calif.), Danny Taylor (Riverside, Conn.), and Henry Williams (San Diego, Calif.) each added assists.
 
The Mids used four goalies on the day. Caden Capobianco (Laguna Beach, Calif.) did a majority of the work on the day, while Hightower, Gurich, and Shaan Sandhoo (Laurel, Md.) all saw time during Navy's opening round game against Mercyhurst. Capobianco finished the day with nine saves and five steals. The junior started the day with a save against the Lakers before posting eight stops and five takeaways against the Bison. Hightower and Gurich each added two saves and an assist apiece.
 
Game 1 Recap: (6) Navy 21, (11) Mercyhurst 9
Sixth-seeded Navy posted a decisive victory in its opening game of the MAWPC Tournament, posting a 21-9 win over No. 11 Mercyhurst. The Midshipmen jumped out to a 4-0 lead and never looked back en route to the 12-goal victory.
 
The Midshipmen opened the game scoring on four of their first five possessions with Heller directing the offensive attack. The sophomore netted the first two goals of the game, while adding an assist on Berzins' goal to put Navy in front, 3-0. Heller completed his first-quarter hat trick to put the Mids ahead 4-0. Following a Mercyhurst goal, Seybold and Clark each found the back of the net to close out the first period with Navy in front 6-1.
 
The second quarter began with back-to-back goals by Lindner and Begin, extending the advantage to 8-1. The Lakers were able to slip a ball pas the goalie, but Pang responded with a goal to regain a seven-goal lead. The designated visitors used a five-meter opportunity to trim the margin to 9-3, but the Midshipmen closed out the half with a 4-0 run with two goals apiece by Simpson and Nordquist.
 
Navy pushed its lead to 16-3 with three goals to start the third quarter. Brunner powered his way to his first of three goals in the game. Faison netted his first collegiate goal, converting a five-meter opportunity, while McInerney also added a score off a five-meter. Mercyhurst found the back of the net, but Brunner and Nordquist answered with consecutive scores to push the lead to 14. The Lakers were able to notch one final score in the period to send the game to the fourth quarter down 18-5.
 
Mercyhurst started the fourth quarter with a goal, but Dutton and Brunner countered with back-to-back scores. The Lakers scored three of the final four goals to provide the final margin of 21-9 with Nordquist netting his fourth goal of the game for the final Midshipmen point.
 
With the opening round win, Navy advanced to the second round to face the No. 3 seed, Bucknell in the nightcap.
 
Game 2 Recap: (3) Bucknell 8, (6) Navy 6
In the second game of the day saw the Mids locked with the Bison in a defensive battle. The 8-6 game marked the 15th game this season for Navy that was decided by two goals or less.
 
Bucknell started the game with two goals, but Clark cut the deficit in half with a goal. The Bison converted a five-meter attempt to regain a two-goal advantage. In the second quarter, Altmayer began the period with a goal to trim the margin to one. Following back-to-back goals by Bucknell, Navy pulled to within one with scores by McKnew and Heller.
 
In the second half, the Midshipmen knotted the score for the first time as Berzins opened the third quarter with a goal. The Bison regained the lead with a score, but McKnew found the back of the net for the equalizer with two and a half minutes remaining in the period. Bucknell scored with one minute to play in the quarter to take a 7-6 advantage. Solid defense by both teams limited the fourth quarter to just one total goal scored by either team with the higher-seeded Bison claiming the 8-6 win.
 
Tournament Schedule
Friday, Nov. 18
Game 1: 11:00 a.m. – (8) McKendree 16, (9) Gannon 11
Game 2: 12:20 p.m. – (10) Johns Hopkins 18, (7) Mount St. Mary's 17
Game 3: 1:40 p.m. – (6) Navy 21, (11) Mercyhurst 9
Game 4: 3:00 p.m. – (5) Salem 17, (4) Wagner 13
Game 5: 4:20 p.m. – (1) Fordham 15, (8) McKendree 6
Game 6: 5:40 p.m. – (2) George Washington 15, (10) Johns Hopkins 5
Game 7: 7:00 p.m. – (3) Bucknell 8, (6) Navy 6
 
Saturday, Nov. 19
Game 8: 1:00 p.m. – (7) Mount St. Mary's vs. (11) Mercyhurst
Game 9: 2:20 p.m. – (4) Wagner vs. (8) McKendree
Game 10: 3:40 p.m. – (6) Navy vs. (10) Johns Hopkins
Game 11: 5:00 p.m. – (9) Gannon vs. (11) Mercyhurst
Game 12: 6:30 p.m. – (1) Fordham vs. (5) Salem
Game 13: 8:00 p.m. – (3) Bucknell vs. (2) George Washington
 
Sunday, Nov. 20
Game 14: 9:00 a.m. – (9) Gannon vs. (7) Mount St. Mary's
Game 15: 10:30 a.m. – Loser Game 10 vs. Loser Game 9 (Seventh Place Game)
Game 16: 12:00 p.m. – Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 10 (Fifth Place Game)
Game 17: 1:30 p.m. – Loser Game 13 vs. Loser Game 12 (Third Place Game)
Game 18: 3:00 p.m. – Winner Game 12 vs. Winner Game 13 (Championship Game)