LEWISBURG, Pa. – Trailing 9-6, freshman Orion Erwin scored four of the next six goals of the game to lead the No. 20 Navy water polo team (12-5, 3-2 MAWPC) to a 14-13 victory over No. 20 Bucknell (7-8, 4-3 MAWPC) at Kinney Natatorium in Lewisburg, Pa.
 
The Midshipmen led at halftime, but a third quarter dominated by the Bison saw the Mids needing to battle from behind to earn the win. Navy was trailing by three (9-6) late in the third quarter, but Erwin scored four of the next six goals, including the game-tying and go-ahead goals to help lead the Midshipmen to a win.
 
"This was a good win against a good team," head coach Luis Nicolao said after the game. "We had a terrible third quarter, but thankfully guys like Orion and Munch were able to step up in a big way and help us earn the victory. We got into some foul trouble, but our young guys came up big for us when we needed them."
 
Navy was led by its youth as the underclassmen scored 12 of 14 goals on the day. Erwin led all Midshipmen with a career-high five goals. The freshman tied his season-best with five points on the day. Sophomore Kiefer Black added three scores, while fellow freshman Billy Zech found the back of the net twice. Sophomores Sam Collingwood and Luka Sekulic joined juniors Rory Begin and Holden Seybold to round out the Mids' scoring.
 
Freshman Ryan Munch earned the start at goalkeeper. The rookie worked a complete game, finishing with 12 saves, including a pair of stops on penalty shots. In the final 45 seconds, Munch and the Navy defense fended off three Bucknell offensive strikes to preserve the victory. Munch added a game-high three steals in the game, while Erwin and Black added a pair of takeaways.
 
Navy started the game with two straight goals to take an early 2-0 lead. Seybold put the Mids on the scoreboard with a slam dunk in front of the cage. Sekulic followed with a goal to push the advantage to 2-0. Bucknell countered with a pair of goals to pull even, but Black buried his first goal of the day into the back of the net to put the Mids up, 3-2.
 
The second quarter was similar to the first as the Mids scored three goals compared to two by the Bison. Begin and Collingwood scored on back-to-back possessions to increase the lead to 5-2. Bucknell responded with consecutive scores to pull to within one, but Erwin pushed the advantage to two with a goal, 6-4.
 
A slow start for the Midshipmen in the third quarter allowed the Bison to tie and ultimately take the lead. Bucknell used a pair of goals on its first two possessions of the second half to knot the score at 6-6. The home team took advantage of a penalty shot to take their first lead of the game. The Bison added two more scores before Erwin snapped the 5-0 run with his second goal of the game. The freshman completed his hat trick with a second goal in the quarter to trim the deficit to one, 9-8. Following a Bucknell goal, Zech cut the margin to one, redirecting a pass into the goal to head to the final quarter down 10-9.
 
Erwin opened the fourth quarter with consecutive scores to give the freshman a career-high five goals. Black scored a pair of goals around a Bucknell score to give Navy a 13-11 advantage. The Bison trimmed the Mids' lead to one with a score, but Zech pushed the advantage back to two, 14-12. The home team was able to pull to within one, but Munch and the Navy defense held strong, keeping the tying goal out of the net.
 
Up next, the Midshipmen will participate in the Brown / Harvard Invitational in Providence, R.I. on Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 19-20. The Mids will take on Mercyhurst, No. 18 Brown, UC Merced, and No. 12 San Jose State.