ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The No. 19 Navy water polo team (13-4, 4-2 MAWPC) trailed early and led by one at halftime, but erupted to outscore Johns Hopkins (1-12, 0-7 MAWPC) in the second half, 12-4, to post a 19-10 victory on Friday night at Scott Natatorium.
"This is always a tough game," head coach
Luis Nicolao said. "Both teams play each other so often that they know each other's tendencies. Hopkins doesn't have the best record, but they are young and play hard. We were able to come alive in the second half and put the game away. We have our alumni game tomorrow morning and then a nonconference game against Connecticut College before we close out the weekend at Bucknell. We need to come out strong and take care of business."
Kiefer Black continued his strong freshman campaign, leading the Midshipmen with five goals, including netting a hat trick in the third quarter.
Billy Zech added three goals for a hat trick on the night, while
Aiden Day,
Tommy McKnew, and
Hayden Kahn added two goals apiece.
Rory Begin,
Connor Cashman,
Jacques Dutton,
Luka Sekulic, and
Spencer Shelley each finished with goals.
Begin, Day, and
Ivan Pang led the team with two assists apiece, while Black, Cashman, Dutton, McKnew, Shelley, Zech, and
Henry Williams added helpers.
Jack Hightower earned the start at goal, working three and a half quarters of play. He finished with eight saves and a steal. Hightower gave way to
Shaan Sandhoo who worked the final four minutes with a save and two take aways. Black led the team with six steals in the game.
Navy jumped out to an early lead as Day and McKnew put the Mids in front, 2-0. Johns Hopkins answered, converting a five-meter attempt and sliding another shot past the Navy keeper. The Midshipmen regained the lead on a Kahn goal, but the Blue Jays closed out the first quarter with back-to-back scores to take a 4-3 lead.
Hopkins added a goal to go ahead by two in the second quarter. Zech and Black knotted the score at 5-5, but the visitors regained the lead with a goal. Zech tied the game with his second score of the game and Day gave the Mids its first lead since it was 2-1 in the first quarter.
In the second half, the Midshipmen used a 6-2 advantage in the third quarter to take over the game. Black started the period with a goal on a five-meter attempt. Begin and Kahn followed with consecutive scores to push the advantage to 10-6. Following a Hopkins goal, the Mids used two goals by Black and a score by Zech to take a 13-7 advantage. Johns Hopkins closed the third quarter with a goal, but Navy led 13-8 through three.
The fourth quarter saw the Mids increase their advantage, outscoring the Blue Jays, 6-2. McKnew and Black opened the quarter with goals, but back-to-back scores by Hopkins trimmed the margin to five, 15-10. The Mids closed out the game with a 4-0 run with goals by Cashman, Sekulic, Dutton, and Shelley to secure the 19-10 victory.
Navy continues the weekend with a game against Connecticut College at 12:00 p.m. at Scott Natatorium. Prior to the game against the Camels, the Midshipmen will host the annual Alumni Game at 10:00 a.m.
