ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The No. 20 Navy water polo team (22-10) fell 18-11 to No. 3 Fordham (31-0) in the Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference Tournament Championship on Sunday afternoon in Lejeune Hall. The Midshipmen finished as the runner ups for the second consecutive season and the third time in the last four years. For his efforts in goal for the Mids, freshman
Ryan Munch was named the MAWPC Rookie of the Tournament.
"Obviously, we are disappointed in the outcome today," head coach
Luis Nicolao said after the game. "Fordham is a good team and are undefeated for a reason. That being said, I couldn't be prouder of the guys. They battled their hearts out today. It was a great crowd today and the team fed off of their energy. I would've loved to have to been able to win a championship in front of all those Navy fans, but it didn't happen today. I am so proud of this team though.
"It is bittersweet for our seniors. They helped lay the groundwork for future teams. This senior class played in three conference championships in their four years here. They just received their service assignments earlier this week. They are disappointed in the result today, but I cannot wait to see what they accomplish in the future.
"For the younger guys, they are going to get a little time off for Thanksgiving and to focus on finals, but the 2025 season starts now. We have a strong group coming back and I expect another competitive and historic season next year."
Six different Midshipmen combined to score 11 goals on the day.
Quinn Bartlett and
Luka Sekulic paced the team with three goals apiece, while
Michael Heller chipped in a pair of scores.
Kiefer Black,
Maddox Garrahy, and
Billy Zech rounded out the scoring. Black led the team with three assists with
Matt Mai-Prasarnsuk and Sekulic adding two helpers apiece. Bartlett and Garrahy were also credited with assists.
Munch finished the game with 12 saves, giving the freshman 34 stops during the tournament. The Rookie of the Tournament posted three straight games with double-digit saves, leading the Midshipmen to a pair of victories over the weekend.
Fordham opened up the scoring, netting two quick goals to start the game. Heller tied the score with back-to-back goals to lock the game at 2-2. The Rams regained the lead, but Bartlett scored his first goal of the game to once again tie the game. Fordham used two penalty-shot goals to take a 5-3 advantage, but Sekulic dented the back of the net to trim the margin to one, 5-4, through one quarter.
The Rams used a 4-0 run in the second quarter to take a 9-4 lead. Sekulic scored his second goal of the game with three seconds remaining in the quarter for the Midshipmen.
In the third quarter, Fordham scored the first two goals, but Garrahy and Bartlett countered with goals to keep the game within reach. The Rams added two more scores, including a five-meter attempt to push the advantage to six. Zech ended the third quarter with a score to cut the margin to five, 13-8.
The top seed started the fourth quarter with a goal to extend the advantage back to six goals. Black converted a penalty shot and Sekulic completed his hat trick to cut the lead to four at 14-10. The Rams used a 3-0 run to extend the lead to seven before Bartlett notched his third goal of the game. Fordham provided the final margin of 18-11 with a goal to secure its fourth consecutive MAWPC Tournament title.
The conference announced its Tournament MVP (Jacopo Parrella, Fordham), Rookie of the Tournament (Munch), and Coach of the Tournament (Brian Bacharach, Fordham) following the championship game, but will not release the All-Tournament Team until Monday.
