MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The No. 19 Navy water polo team (10-3) picked up two more victories on Sunday, completing a four-game sweep at the Salem Invitational at the Aquatic Center at Mylan Park in Morgantown, W.Va. over the weekend The Midshipmen opened the day with a 17-9 win over McKendree (3-5), before closing the tournament with a 14-5 win over Gannon (5-2).
"It was a great weekend for the team," head coach
Luis Nicolao said. "We didn't play as well as we wanted to, but we were able to get a lot of guys into the pool and we had a lot of people contribute to the four wins this weekend. We now shift our attention to the three home conference games we have coming up this week. Huge week ahead for us, but out guys are excited for the opportunity to play at home."
Fourteen Mids scored goals on the day with 11 netting multiple scores in the final day of the Salem Invite.
Aiden Day scored a team-high four goals on the day, while
Kiefer Black,
Nathan Duchez,
Ivan Pang, and
Billy Zech added three scores apiece.
Rory Begin, Sam Cashman,
Sam Collingwood,
Hayden Kahn,
Tommy McKnew, and
Spencer Shelley notched two goals each with
Michael Heller,
Luka Sekulic, and
Holden Seybold finished with one score individually.
Begin and Black led the way with four assists apiece with Pang and Collingwood adding three and two helpers, respectively.
Liam McInerney,
Merle Richman, and
Henry Williams etched their names in the scoresheet with assists, while Duchez, Heller, Sekulic, and Shelley added to their total points with helpers.
At goal,
Caden Capobianco and
Jack Hightower split time between the posts. Hightower finished the day with six saves and three steals. The sophomore worked a complete game against McKendree with five saves and three steals, while entering the game for the final quarter against Gannon with a save. Capobianco went three quarters against Gannon, finishing with six saves, three goals allowed, and two steals.
The Midshipmen will host a trio of MAWPC foes throughout the week. Navy welcomes George Washington to Annapolis on Thursday, Sept. 28 at 7:00 p.m. On Saturday, the Mids continue conference play with back-to-back defending champions No. 17 Fordham (7:00 p.m.). The Midshipmen close out the weekend on Sunday with a noon game against Bucknell.
Game 1 Recap: #19 Navy 17, McKendree 9
Navy opened the final day of the Salem Invitational with a 17-9 victory. The game saw 12 different Midshipmen find the back of the net, including five players – Begin, Black, Day, Pang, and Zech – with multiple goals.
McKendree was the first team to score, but Duchez answered to even the game at 1-1. The Bearcats regained the lead, but once again the Mids answered as Black scored his first goal of the day. After McKendree took the lead for the third time, Navy countered with three straight goals. McKnew, Day, and Black each notched scores during the 3-0 run to end the first quarter to go ahead 5-3.
In the second quarter, the Bearcats trimmed the Midshipmen's lead to one, but three straight goals by Kahn, Heller, and Begin pushed the Navy advantage to 8-4 at halftime.
Heller began the second half with a goal, but the Bearcats responded with a goal to keep the Mids' lead four. Begin and Day notched back-to-back goals to extend the Navy advantage to six, 11-5. Following consecutive scores by McKendree, Pang was able to slip two balls past the goalie to extend the lead back to six. With time winding down in the third quarter, Shelley pushed the advantage to seven with a goal to send the game into the final quarter with Navy in front, 14-7.
In the fourth, Sekulic put his name on the scoresheet with a goal. The Bearcats scored a goal, but two straight scores by Zech pushed the Mids' lead to 17-8. McKendree scored a late goal, but Navy was able to secure the 17-9 victory.
Game 2 Recap: #19 Navy 14, Gannon 5
The Midshipmen completed the sweep of the four-game tournament with a 14-5 victory over Gannon in the final game of the weekend.
Day started the scoring, putting the Mids on the scoreboard early. After the Golden Knights knotted the game at 1-1, Collingwood closed out the first quarter with back-to-back scores to put the Midshipmen in front, 3-1.
In the second quarter, Kahn extended the advantage to three goals, but Gannon countered with consecutive scores to trim the margin to one. Navy used a 4-0 run with two goals by Duchez and scores by Day and McKnew to send the game into intermission with the Mids in front 8-3.
Defense ruled the third quarter as only one goal was scored between the two teams. With just under three minutes to play in the period, Pang broke the scoreless drought with a goal to put Navy ahead 9-3.
The Midshipmen closed out the game with a 5-2 fourth quarter. Cashman started the quarter with a goal, but the Golden Knights were able to find the back of the net to cut into the Mids' advantage. Black and Cashman netted consecutive scores before Gannon slipped one past the Navy keeper. In front 12-5, Shelley and Zech provided the final margin, 14-5, with one goal apiece.
