ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The No. 20 Navy water polo team (21-9) fell behind early, but was able to battle back and post a 19-15 victory over Mount St. Mary's (5-28) on Friday night to advance to the semifinals of the Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference Tournament. The Midshipmen trailed 10-6 at intermission, but outscored the Mountaineers, 13-5, in the second half to earn the victory.
"Survive and advance," head coach
Luis Nicolao said after the game. "It wasn't pretty, but we were able to get the win. The Mount came out ready to play today. We didn't come out as strong as I was expecting us to, but credit to the guys; they battled, chipped away, and ultimately took the lead. We scored 19 goals tonight, but it was our defense that allowed us keep the game close and allowed our offense enough time to take the lead. We have a tough game tomorrow against GW, but I am happy that we are in the winner's bracket."
Nine different Midshipmen scored goals in the game, including four that netted multiple scores.
Kiefer Black led the offensive attack with six goals, adding a school-record seven assists to give him 13 points on the night. Black broke his own record of six helpers that he set on Sept. 22 against Cal Lutheran.
Orion Erwin and
Henry Williams contributed hat tricks in the game with
Billy Zech adding a pair of scores.
Quinn Bartlett,
Rory Begin,
Sam Collingwood,
Austin Kahn, and
Luka Sekulic also found the back of the net in the game.
Defensively, the Mids finished the game with 11 steals. Williams led the charge with three takeaways, while Black added a pair of steals.
Michael Heller,
Ryan Munch,
Holden Seybold, Bartlett, Erwin, and Zech all finished the with steals. Munch worked a complete game for the Mids in the cage. The freshman finished with 11 saves, including critical stops down the stretch in the victory.
Mount St. Mary's jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead before Navy countered with back-to-back goals by Black and Erwin to trim the deficit to one. The Mount added a score to push the advantage back to two, but Black cut the margin back to one with his second score of the game. The Mountaineers used consecutive scores to take a 6-3 advantage, but Black netted his third goal of the quarter to pull the Midshipmen to within two, 6-4, through one quarter of play.
The Mount were able to increase their lead to four at 10-6 in the second quarter. The Mids used a penalty shot by Kahn and Black's fourth goal of the half to keep the game within reach.
Navy received a big third quarter to take its first lead of the game. Zech opened the scoring for the Mids to pull within three. Following a Mount goal, Begin found the back of the net to once again close the gap to three, 11-8. The Mount extended their lead to four, but three straight scores by the Midshipmen –Erwin (2x) and Bartlett – closed the gap to one. Mount St. Mary's pushed the advantage to two, but Navy countered with a 3-0 run to take its first lead. Zech pulled the Mids to within one and Collingwood knotted the score at 13-13. A Sekulic goal gave Navy a 14-13 lead through three quarters of play.
In the fourth quarter, the Mountaineers knotted the score at 14-14, but the Midshipmen closed out the game, scoring five of the final six goals to earn the 19-15 win. Williams netted back-to-back goals to give Navy a 16-14 advantage. Following a Mount goal, Black scored consecutive goals to push the advantage to 18-15. Williams completed his hat trick and provided the final margin with the final goal of the game.
Navy will play George Washington (16-8) on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. in Lejeune Hall. The game will be streamed live on
Game On Live Studio at a cost of $25 for a weekend tournament pass (NOTE: no option for single game purchases).
For fans attending the MAWPC Championship, ticket prices are $25 for a three-day tournament pass or $10 for a one-day pass. Navy students, faculty and staff with a valid college ID, and senior citizens 65 and older, will be admitted at discounted prices of $10 (tournament pass) and $5 (one-day pass). All children 12 and under are free of charge. All tickets are exclusively available at the door as there will be no presale in advance of the championship.
