LA JOLLA, Calif. – The No. 20 Navy water polo team (2-0) swept the opening day of competition at the 2023 Triton Invitational, which is hosted by UC San Diego. The Midshipmen began the day with a 13-6 win over Cal State Fullerton (0-2) and closed out the day with a 13-7 victory over Biola (0-2).
"It was a good way to start the season," head coach
Luis Nicolao said. "We had a lot of guys on the team contribute, including some of the younger guys. These games will give them some confidence and help us later in the season. We can't celebrate too much as we play three ranked opponents in the next two days, however, the guys are excited for the challenge."
On the day, 14 different Midshipmen scored goals, including seven with multiple scores. Freshman
Kiefer Black led the way with seven total points on a team-high four goals and team-best three assists. Ivan Pan added three goals and a pair of helpers for five points with
Tommy McKnew (3g 1a) and
Aiden Day (3g) adding three scores apiece.
Hayden Kahn,
Merle Richman, and
Luka Sekulic added two goals each with
Sam Collingwood,
Jacques Dutton,
Max Fino,
Alejandro Schmidt Corujo,
Holden Seybold, and
Billy Zech rounding out the scoring.
Defensively, senior team captain
Caden Capobianco led the way with seven saves on the day.
Jack Hightower added four stops with
Owen Gurich registering a save. Sekulic led the team with six steals in two games, while Capobianco added five takeaways. Begin and Hightower contributed four steals apiece.
The Mids continue play in the 2023 Triton Invitational on Sunday as the Midshipmen take on No. 9 Long Beach State (2-0) before squaring off against No. 11 UC San Diego (1-1). Navy's contest versus Long Beach State (11:00 a.m. ET) will feature a video-only live stream ($) on
Overnght Media. The Mids game against tournament-host UC San Diego (3:00 p.m. ET) will be broadcast on
ESPN+ and
live stats will be available.
Game 1 Recap: #20 Navy 13, Cal State Fullerton 6
Navy opened up the 2023 season on a positive note, posting a 13-6 victory over Cal State Fullerton. Day registered his first collegiate hat trick, while Black and McKnew added two scores apiece in the win.
McKnew got things started for the Mids in the first quarter, putting the designated home team in front 1-0. Cal State Fullerton found the equalizer midway through the first quarter and both teams defense stood tough the remainder of the quarter, sending the game into the second knotted at 1-1.
In the second quarter, McKnew once again put Navy in front, burying his second goal of the contest. Black followed with his first collegiate goal, pushing the Navy advantage to 3-1. The Titans trimmed the Mids' lead to one, 3-2, but Day answered with his first goal of his Navy career. Day added his second goal later in the stanza for the rookie's first multi-goal performance. Fullerton used a goal to cut the margin to 5-3 headed into halftime.
Cal State Fullerton opened the second half, trimming the Navy lead to just one, 5-4, but a 3-0 run by the Mids pushed the advantage to 8-4 through three quarters. Day completed his first hat trick with a goal, while Begin and Sekulic each added a goal apiece. For Sekulic, it was his first collegiate score.
In the final quarter, Navy put the game out of reach, earning its first victory of the season. Seybold started the final frame with a goal to push the advantage to 9-4. Following a Titan goal, Collingwood, Black, and Pang each found the back of the net in the fourth quarter. Fullerton scored to cut the margin to 12-6, but
Alejandro Schmidt Corujo closed out the scoring with his first collegiate goal, cementing the 13-6 victory.
Game 2 Recap: #20 Navy 13, Biola 7
Navy closed out Day 1 of competition at the Triton Invitational with a 13-7 win over Biola. Four different players – Pang, Kahn, Black, and Richman – finished with two goals apiece in the win.
For the second consecutive game, McKnew started the scoring, putting the Mids in front, 1-0, early. Biola knotted the score at one apiece, but back-to-back goals by Black and Pang gave the Midshipmen a 3-1 advantage through one quarter.
Dutton started the second quarter with his first score of the season. Following an Eagle goal, Navy used scores by Richman and Kahn to extend the lead to 6-2 at intermission.
In the third quarter, Biola scored consecutive goals to cut the margin to 6-4. Richman pushed the lead back to three goals with his second score of the game. The Eagles once again found the back of the net, but goals by Zech (first of career) and Sekulic gave Navy a 9-5 lead through three quarters of play.
Black and Pang opened the fourth quarter with consecutive scores to push the edge to 11-5. Biola scored, but Kahn countered with his second goal of the game to put the Mids up 12-6. Following an Eagle goal, Fino found the back of the net for his first collegiate goal and provide the final margin of victory, 13-7.
