ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The No. 19 Navy water polo team (15-4, 5-2 MAWPC) travels north to the Bronx, N.Y. to take on Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference-leading No. 17 Fordham (12-3, 8-0 MAWPC) in a top 20 clash on Saturday, Oct. 14 at the Col. Francis B. Messmore Aquatic Center.
 
The game will be live streamed on Stretch.
 
For additional in-game action and information on the Mids water polo team, follow the Midshipmen on X (@NavyWaterPolo), Instagram (@NavyWaterPolo), and Facebook (@NavyWaterPolo).
 
Scouting the Midshipmen
The Mids enter the week with a 15-4 overall record on the season with an 5-2 mark in the Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC). Last week, the Midshipmen went 3-0, including a pair of conference wins. The Mids opened the week with a 19-10 Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference victory over Johns Hopkins before notching a 19-6 win over Connecticut College. Navy closed out the weekend with a 14-12 win over Bucknell, who was receiving votes in the national poll.
 
Offensively, the Midshipmen have tallied 257 goals in 19 games (13.5 gpg) with 23 different student-athletes finding the back of the net. Navy is led by freshmen Kiefer Black, Aiden Day, and Sam Collingwood, who have 43, 34, and 29 goals scored respectively. Hayden Kahn follows with 21 goals, while Nathan Duchez (18), Tommy McKnew (18), Billy Zech (12), Michael Heller (11), and Rory Begin (10) round out the double-digit scoring.
 
Black leads the way with 37 of Navy's 148 assists this season. He is joined by Begin (16), Ivan Pang (15), and Day with double-digit helpers.
 
Defensively, goalkeeper Caden Capobianco has seen a majority of time between the posts. The senior team captain has appeared in 15 games, notching 145 saves and a 52.7 save percentage.
 
In addition, Capobianco leads the team with 39 steals. Black is the team's leading position player with 30 steals, while Holden Seybold, Begin, and Luka Sekulic follow with 16, 15, and 13 take aways, correspondingly. Additionally, Collingwood and Day have 10 steals apiece. McKnew (32), Kahn (29), and Black (15) pace the squad in ejections drawn, while Zech (12), Duchez (11), and Heller (11) follow with double-digit kickouts drawn.
 
Scouting the Opposition
No. 17 Fordham (12-3, 8-0 MAWPC)
The Rams enter the weekend with a 12-3 overall record and an 8-0 mark in conference play, extending their Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference winning streak to 26 games. Fordham has won 35 of its last 37 MAWPC games. The back-to-back league champions will take on Gannon (5-2) at 1:45 p.m. on Saturday after taking on the Midshipmen.
 
The game will mark the 42nd meeting between Navy and Fordham. The Midshipmen own a 28-13 overall record against the Rams, but have won just four of the last 17 games versus Fordham, dating back to 2016. Prior to 2016, Navy was 24-0 against Fordham.
 
National Rankings
Navy remained ranked in the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) national rankings, coming in at No. 19 for the fourth consecutive week, as announced by the league office on Wednesday afternoon. The Midshipmen entered the preseason poll ranked No. 20, but moved up as high as No. 13 following a strong outing in California that included a 10-9 upset of then-No. 9 Long Beach State. The Mids ranked No. 18 in the Week 2 poll before coming in No. 19 the last four weeks.
 
Athletes of the Week
The MAWPC announced its weekly award winners and Navy's Kiefer Black and Aiden Day each garnered honors. Black was named the Offensive Player of the Week, while Day was tabbed Rookie of the Week.
 
Black led the team with 12 total points, scoring a team-best eight goals to go along with a team-high four assists, while adding seven steals, playing in two of the three games during the weekend. The freshman scored a team-high five goals, while adding an assist against Johns Hopkins. Additionally, he added six steals against the Blue Jays. After sitting out the game against Connecticut College, Black notched his second hat trick of the weekend with three goals against Bucknell. He added a team-high three assists for a team-best six points against the Bison.
 
Day tallied nine total points on seven goals and a pair of assists and four steals, while also playing in two of the three games during the weekend. He registered multiple goals in both games, including a hat trick. The freshman opened the weekend with two goals and two assists, while adding a steal against Johns Hopkins. Day led the Midshipmen with five of Navy's 14 goals in a win over Bucknell, while adding a team-high three steals against the Bison.
 
Up Next
Following Saturday's game, the Midshipmen will have consecutive bye weekends before concluding the regular season with four MAWPC games between Friday and Sunday, Nov. 3-5, including three at Scott Natatorium. The Mids open the four-game stretch with a home game on Friday, Nov. 3 against Wagner (7:00 p.m.). On Saturday, Nov. 4, Navy makes the short trip to Baltimore for a single game against Johns Hopkins (6:00 p.m.). The Mids conclude the weekend with a pair of games against Mount St. Mary's (11:00 a.m.) and George Washington (3:00 p.m.) on Sunday, Nov. 5. at Scott Natatorium.