ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The No. 18 Navy water polo team (5-3) hosts No. 20 Air Force (5-3) for the Freedom Vase on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. in Lejeune Hall. The game, which will mark the first home game of the season for the Midshipmen, will be live streamed on the Navy Athletics YouTube channel with Dave McHugh handling the play-by-play action. Admission to the game is FREE.
 
For additional in-game action and information on the Mids water polo team, follow the Midshipmen on Twitter (@NavyWaterPolo), Instagram (@NavyWaterPolo), and Facebook (@NavyWaterPolo).
 
The Freedom Vase
In 2009, Bruce Hopping with the Kalos Kagathos Foundation in Laguna Beach, Calif. created an award – the Freedom Vase – which he made in the hopes that Air Force and Navy would play an annual game and the winner would receive.
 
Hopping founded Kalos Kagathos with the goal "to put athletic fitness on a pedestal by creating sport-inspired statues and statuettes, much like the Greeks, 'whose sculptures are a testament to the beauty of the human form and the grace of competition.'" Hopping's goal was to have the two teams play each Fall and have the Vase on the line to represent "physical distinction, nobility of mind," which he believed blended well into the values of each Academy.
 
Navy and Air Force will meet for the 35th time in series history on Thursday evening. The Midshipmen hold a 23-11 advantage in the all-time series. However, the Falcons have won the last two meetings, including a 13-12 sudden-death overtime game last season in Colorado Springs.
 
The two teams have played each other regularly, but, generally, Air Force and Navy squared off against one another at a neutral site. Prior to the 2021 season, the two programs agreed to make the games against one another a home-and-home series alternating who hosts each year.
 
The 2021 meeting in Annapolis was the first time since 2009 that the two teams met at a home site, while last season's game in Colorado Springs marked the first time since 2006 that the two teams met at Air Force.
 
Scouting the Midshipmen
The Mids enter the week with a 5-3 overall record on the season. The Midshipmen defeated No. 19 Santa Clara (W, 13-7) before posting a victory over Chapman (W, 16-8) on Day 1 of the Princeton Invitational. The Mids were edged in overtime by Wagner (L, 13-12) to conclude the tournament.
 
Offensively, the Midshipmen have tallied 91 goals in eight games (11.4 gpg) with 20 different student-athletes finding the back of the net. Navy is led by freshmen Kiefer Black and Sam Collingwood, who have netted 12 goals apiece. Nathan Duchez and Tommy McKnew follow with nine goals individually, while Aiden Day and Hayden Kahn round out the Mids' top scorers with eight goals each. Black leads the way with 18 of Navy's 50 assists so far this season. He is joined by Ivan Pang and Michael Heller, who have seven and six helpers, respectively.
 
Defensively, goalkeeper Caden Capobianco has seen a majority of time between the posts. The senior team captain has appeared in seven games, notching 65 saves and a 50.4 save percentage.
 
In addition, Capobianco leads the team with 22 steals. Black is the team's leading position player with 11 steals, while Luka Sekulic, Holden Seybold, and Rory Begin follow closely with nine, eight, and seven take aways, correspondingly. Kahn (16) and McKnew (14) pace the squad in ejections drawn.
 
Scouting the Opposition
Air Force enters the game ranked 20th in the CWPA with a 5-3 overall record. The Falcons opened the season 3-1 hosting the Rare Air Challenge where they defeated Johns Hopkins (W, 22-6), Redlands (W, 14-13), and Cal Lutheran (W, 17-8), while dropping a game to No. 5 UC Davis (L, 18-5). Air Force followed with a 2-2 record in the second week of the season, defeating Occidental (W, 15-9) and Whittier (W, 22-10) before dropping consecutive games to Cal State Fullerton (L, 15-10) and Redlands (L, 14-12).
 
The Falcons have scored 116 goals in eight games. Tom Leggett leads the team with 19 goals, while Jack Richards (11 goals) and Colin Chase (10) have also notched double-digit scores on the season. Ian Christie paces the team with 13 assists, while Jacob Yi is one helper back with 12.
 
Luca Smith has seen a majority of minutes at goal. The sophomore has registered 43 saves, while allowing 83 goals for a 34.1 save percentage. Junior Liam Markus has worked 88 minutes between the posts notching 15 stops and 28 goals allowed for a 34.9 save percentage. Christie leads the team with 15 steals, while Smith has 14 takeaways.
 
National Rankings
Following a 2-1 weekend at the Princeton Invitational, the Navy water polo team (5-3) slipped to No. 18 in the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) national rankings, as announced on Wednesday afternoon. Air Force remained ranked No. 20 in the CWPA Poll.
 
The Midshipmen entered the preseason poll ranked No. 20. Navy used a 3-2 weekend in California that included a 10-9 upset of then-No. 9 Long Beach State to help boost itself in the rankings up to No. 13. The following weekend, the Mids posted a 2-1 record at the Princeton Invitational, defeating nationally-ranked Santa Clara (W, 13-7) and Chapman (W, 16-8), but falling to conference opponent Wagner (L, 13-12) in overtime, which led to a slip to No. 18.
 
Athletes of the Week
The Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) announced its athletes of the week and Navy water polo players Caden Capobianco and Sam Collingwood were tabbed Defensive Player of the Week and Rookie of the Week, respectively. The duo helped lead the Midshipmen to a 2-1 record for the weekend at the Princeton Invitational defeating No. 19 Santa Clara and Chapman, before being edged by Wagner.
 
Capobianco totaled 32 saves and 10 steals on the weekend. The team captain notched seven saves and six steals against No. 19 Santa Clara, as well as 12 saves and two steals versus Chapman. Helping keep the game close against Wagner, the senior had 13 saves and two steals in the 13-12 overtime loss.
 
Collingwood led Navy with a team-high nine goals and an assist. The freshman scored at least one goal in each game and got two hat tricks under his belt. He started off the weekend with a goal in Navy's win over No. 19 Santa Clara, while also scoring five goals with an assist against Chapman. Closing out the weekend, the rookie led the team with three goals versus Wagner.
 
Last Time vs. Air Force (Sept. 15, 2022)
Trailing by one, Nathan Duchez forced sudden-death with a goal with under a minute to play in overtime, but Air Force converted a five-meter opportunity for the golden goal to edge No. 20 Navy, 13-12, to win the Freedom Vase in Cadet Natatorium in Colorado Springs, Colo.
 
Offensively, nine different Midshipmen combined to score 12 goals. Rory Begin, Tommy McKnew, and Connor Simpson led the way with two scores apiece. It was the fifth time this season McKnew scored two or more goals, while it was the second time for Simpson. For Begin, it was the first multi-goal game of the freshman's career. Duchez, Jake Altmayer, Will Clark, Michael Heller, Chris Kim, and Ivan Pang added a score apiece.
 
Caden Capobianco took the hard-luck loss, working a complete game between the posts. The goalkeeper posted 13 saves in the game, while adding three steals and an assist.
 
Up Next
Navy returns to action Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 23-24, as the Midshipmen head to Morgantown, W.Va. for the Salem Invitational. On Saturday, the Mids will play a Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) game against Mount St. Mary's (12:00 p.m.) before taking on tournament-host Salem (5:15 p.m.). The Midshipmen conclude the weekend with games against McKendree (8:00 a.m.) and Gannon (3:00 p.m.) on Sunday.