ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The No. 20 Navy water polo team (16-5, 6-3) notched a 10-8 Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference victory over Wagner (15-12, 6-4) on Friday night at Scott Natatorium. The Mids trailed early, but outscored the Seahawks, 8-5, over the final three quarters to come away with the win.
"Conference games are always tough," head coach
Luis Nicolao said after the game. "Earlier this year, Wagner was able to get us by one in overtime so it was nice to be able to rebound against them with a win tonight. I am proud of the way the guys fought. We fell behind early, but no one panicked. We did what we needed to do and were able to come away with the win. No time to celebrate this one as we have three more games this weekend."
Six different Midshipmen found the back of the net with freshmen
Kiefer Black and
Sam Collingwood leading the charge. Black once again finished with a hat trick, scoring a team high four goals on the night. He was followed by Collingwood who netted a pair of goals in the game.
Connor Cashman,
Michael Heller,
Hayden Kahn, and
Ivan Pang also found the back of the net for the Midshipmen. Black and
Rory Begin split Navy's four assists in half with each getting a pair.
Caden Capobianco worked a complete game between the posts for the Midshipmen, earning the hard-fought victory. The senior team captain finished with nine saves, while recording four of the Mids' seven steals in the game.
Nathan Duchez,
Holden Seybold, and
Tommy McKnew added takeaways in the game.
Wagner was the first team to scratch the scoreboard, jumping out to an early 1-0 lead. Collingwood answered with his first score to knot the game at one. The Seahawks regained the lead, pushing their advantage to a pair of goals, 3-1. Pang pulled the Mids to within one to close out the first quarter.
The second quarter saw Heller knot the at 3-3 with a strong finish in front of the net. Black gave the Midshipmen the lead on two occasions, but the Seahawks were able to find the equalizers, sending the game into halftime locked at 5-5.
In the third, Collingwood broke the tie with his second goal of the evening. Once again, Wagner was able to tie the game. For the third time in the game, Black broke the tie, giving Navy a 7-6 lead with his third score of the game to complete his hat trick.
In the fourth, Navy was able to secure the victory. Kahn and Cashman pushed the Midshipmen's lead to three at 9-6, but back-to-back scores by the Seahawks pulled the visitors to within one, 9-8. Black's fourth goal put the Mids in front by two and secured the win for the Blue and Gold.
Navy returns to action on Saturday and Sunday as the Midshipmen close out the regular season with three conference games.
The Mids head to Baltimore, Md. for a game on Saturday at 6:00 p.m. at Johns Hopkins (5-14, 1-8) at the Newton White Athletic Center – Natatorium.
The Mids conclude the weekend with a pair of home games on Sunday against Mount St. Mary's (6-18, 0-9) and George Washington (9-12, 3-6). The game against the Mount is slated for 11:00 a.m. while the game versus the Revolutionaries will take place at 3:00 p.m.
