BRONX, N.Y. – In the fifth-place game of the Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) Tournament, the Navy water polo team (16-15) recorded a 17-14 victory over fourth-seeded Wagner (17-14) at the Col. Francis B. Messmore Aquatic Center in the Bronx, N.Y. The Midshipmen trailed 2-0 early, but used an 8-0 run to take control of the game and never looked back.
"It is always good to end the season with a win," head coach
Luis Nicolao said after the game. "The tournament didn't go exactly the way we wanted it to, but we finished with three wins and our one loss was only by two goals to a team that played in the championship game. This was a tough season, but I am proud of the guys. They fought to the very end in every game – win or lose. The seniors received their service assignments on Thursday and will now set their sights on commissioning and beginning their military careers. For the rest of the guys, its time take the lessons learned from this season and start preparing for next year."
Offensively, the Midshipmen finished the game with 17 goals. The Mids were led by
Michael Heller (Menlo Park, Calif.) who tallied three scores, while
Jake Altmayer (Pasadena, Calif.),
Rory Begin (Bakersfield, Calif.),
Will Clark (Laguna, Beach, Calif.), and
Chris Kim (Los Angeles, Calif.) added two scores apiece.
Travis Berzins (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.),
Peter Hillen (Orinda, Calif.),
Cole McKechnie (Laguna Beach, Calif.),
Tommy McKnew (Tiburon, Calif.),
Holden Seybold (Aliso Viejo, Calif.), and
Kyle Yelensky (Stamford, Conn.) rounded out the scoring with one goal each. Begin paced the squad with five assists, while Clark and
Caden Capobianco (Laguna Beach, Calif.) added three helpers each.
Ivan Pang (El Monte, Calif.) also notched multiple assists, finishing with two.
Defensively, Capobianco worked a majority of minutes between the posts at goal for the Midshipmen. The junior recorded 10 saves in the win before giving way to
Jack Hightower (San Diego, Calif.) for the final three and a half minutes of the fourth quarter.
Connor Simpson (San Rafael, Calif.) led the way with two steals, while McKnew and Yelensky drew a pair of ejections drawn apiece to pace the squad.
Wagner started the game with back-to-back goals to take an early 2-0 lead. Navy responded with an 8-0 run that closed out the first quarter and went midway into the second period. Seybold opened the run with a goal and Heller followed with consecutive scores to give the Mids a lead they would not relinquish. Altmayer ended the first quarter with a score to push the Navy lead to 4-2. Begin and Berzins opened the second quarter with goals before Altmayer found the back of the net for the second time in the first half. Yelensky ended the run with a goal, putting the Midshipmen in front, 8-2. The Seahawks chipped into the Mids' lead with a pair of scores, but McKechnie and Heller answered to extend the advantage back to six goals, 10-4. Wagner cut the margin to five with a goal, sending the game into halftime with Navy ahead 10-5.
In the second half, Begin and Kim started the third quarter with consecutive scores to extend the advantage to 12-5. Wagner closed the gap with two scores, but Clark was able to counter with a score. Two more Seahawk goals closed the margin to 13-9, but Clark once again found the back of the net to push the Midshipmen advantage back to five, 14-9. Wagner closed the third and opened the fourth with goals to trim the margin to three, 14-11, but McKnew and Hillen netted some insurance goals to extend the advantage back to five scores, 16-11, with six minutes remaining. Following a Wagner goal, Kim scored the final Midshipmen goal of the game with under five minutes to play. With a sizable lead and time running down, the Mids worked the shot clock on their next few possessions before tossing the ball out of play. The Seahawks were able net two goals to provide the final margin of 17-14.
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 18, (11) Mercyhurst 8
Game 9: 2:20 p.m. – (4) Wagner 15, (8) McKendree 14
Game 10: 3:40 p.m. – (6) Navy 15, (10) Johns Hopkins 11 (overtime)
Game 11: 5:00 p.m. – (9) Gannon 17, (11) Mercyhurst 6
Game 12: 6:30 p.m. – (1) Fordham 19, (5) Salem 8
Game 13: 8:00 p.m. – (3) Bucknell 7, (2) George Washington 5
Sunday, Nov. 20
Game 14: 9:00 a.m. – (7) Mount St. Mary's 9, (9) Gannon 8
Game 15: 10:30 a.m. – (8) McKendree 13, (10) Johns Hopkins 8 (Seventh Place Game)
Game 16: 12:00 p.m. – (6) Navy 17, (4) Wagner 14 (Fifth Place Game)
Game 17: 1:30 p.m. – (2) George Washington 23, (5) Salem 16 (Third Place Game)
Game 18: 3:00 p.m. – (1) Fordham 14, (3) Bucknell 7 (Championship Game)
