DAVIS, Calif. – The No. 20 Navy water polo team (5-6) fell 13-9 to No. 10 San Jose State (3-4) at the Schaal Aquatics Center on UC Davis campus to conclude action in the 2022 Aggie Roundup. Senior team captain
Will Clark (Laguna Beach, Calif.) led the offensive attack, netting three goals for his first hat trick of the season.
"We played well today, but came up a little short against a good team," head coach
Luis Nicolao said after the game. "We got off to the kind of start we needed, but missed some opportunities, especially in the third quarter. I am proud of the team's effort today. Now, we get a little bit of break before starting the conference season."
Offensively, the Midshipmen scored nine goals, led by Clark's hat trick.
Henry Williams (San Diego, Calif.) registered his second multi-score game in as many days with a pair of goals, while
Jake Altmayer (Pasadena, Calif.),
Graham Lindner (Bel Air, Md.),
Ivan Pang (El Monte, Calif.), and
Spencer Shelley (Grapevine, Texas) added one score apiece.
On defense,
Caden Capobianco (Laguna Beach, Calif.) worked a complete game at goal. The junior keeper finished with nine saves and a team-high five steals.
Navy got off to a hot start early, building a 3-0 lead in the first quarter. Clark opened the scoring with a strike from the outside. Williams continued his hot play out west with his fourth goal of the weekend. The Mids continued the run as Shelley found the back of the net to put the designated home team in front 3-0 through one period.
The second quarter saw Altmayer push the Navy advantage to 4-0. San Jose State responded with three straight to trim the margin to one, but Pang fired a strike past the goalkeeper to increase the lead to two before halftime, 5-3.
Coming out of the break, the Spartans used a 5-0 run to take the lead. The Mids were able to use goals by Clark and Lindner to trim the deficit to one, but SJSU converted a five-meter opportunity to send the game into the final quarter with the Midshipmen trailing, 9-7.
Clark trimmed the margin to one with his third goal of the game, but three straight scores by the Spartans pushed the advantage to 12-8. Williams netted a goal to give the sophomore his second multi-score game of the weekend. San Jose State posted the final score, converting its fourth five-meter opportunity of the game.
Navy returns to action on Tuesday, Sept. 27 as the Midshipmen open up Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference play with a game against Mount St. Mary's at Scott Natatorium in Annapolis, Md.
