ARLINGTON, Va. – The No. 20 Navy water polo team (14-8, 4-3 MAWPC) dropped a 13-12 decision to George Washington (11-6, 7-1 MAWPC) at the Long Bridge Park Aquatics & Fitness Center in Arlington, Va. The Midshipmen led 12-9, but the Revolutionaries ended the game with a 4-0 run to earn the one-goal victory.
"Tonight was disappointing," head coach
Luis Nicolao said. "We played well, but we have to finish. We emphasize defense every day at practice so for us to give up four late goals is disappointing. The good thing is we have two more chances this weekend to rebound and get a couple of wins. It will be the first time we are at home in over a month and we are excited to play in front of the home crowd."
Seven different Midshipmen found the back of the net in the game, including four with multiple scores.
Kiefer Black led the team with three goals, while
Orion Erwin,
Michael Heller, and
Billy Zech added two scores apiece.
Sam Collingwood,
Matt Mai-Prasarnsuk, and
Luka Sekulic rounded out the scoring with one goal each.
Erwin started the game with back-to-back goals to give Navy a quick 2-0 lead. George Washington was able to tie the score with consecutive goals, ultimately taking the lead, 3-2. With two seconds remaining in the first quarter, Black knotted the score at three with his first goal of the game.
In the second quarter, the Midshipmen regained the lead as Mai-Prasarnsuk scored to give Navy a 4-3 advantage. The Revolutionaries evened the game at four, but Heller gave the Mids a one-goal lead with just under six minutes to play in the first half. Following a GW goal, Zech gave the Mids another one-goal advantage. Collingwood pushed the lead to two at 7-5. George Washington cut the margin to one, but Black extended the two, 8-6. Heller followed a GW goal with his second score of the night, sending the game into intermission with the Midshipmen in front, 9-7.
The third quarter saw the Revolutionaries tie the game at 9-9 before Black gave the Mids another one-goal advantage. Zech and Sekulic founded the back of the net to extend the advantage to 12-9 through three periods.
In the fourth quarter, George Washington relied on solid defense and timely shooting. The home team tied the game at 12-12 with three minutes remaining in regulation. With just over two minutes in regulation, GW regained the lead at 13-12. The Midshipmen were unable to score the equalizer, being edged by one.
The Mids continue the weekend with a pair of home games in Lejeune Hall against Mount St. Mary's on Saturday, Oct. 26 and versus Bucknell on Sunday, Oct. 27.
