BRONX, N.Y. – The Navy water polo team (12-7, 5-1) dropped its first Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) game of the season to fifth-ranked and defending league champion Fordham (12-1, 5-0), falling 20-14 at the Col. Francis B. Messmore Aquatic Center in the Bronx, N.Y.
"It is disappointing," head coach
Luis Nicolao said after the game. "We are a good team and we played well today, but we weren't able to get the job done. Fordham is a good team with a lot of veteran players. It is just our first conference loss so there is still a lot to play for. We will have a good week of practice, improve in some areas and be ready to go next weekend."
Once again,
Kiefer Black led the way for the Midshipmen. The junior finished the game with a team-high five goals. Black was one of four Mids to notch multiple tallies in the game as
Aiden Day,
Maddox Garrahy, and
Jack Reif also added a pair of scores each.
Quinn Bartlett,
Rory Begin, and
James Mulvey rounded out the scoring for the Midshipmen.
In goal, the Mids used a pair of keepers.
Ryan Munch opened the game, finishing with five stops in three quarters of play.
Jack Rodoni closed out the contest with a pair of blocks in the final period.
Fordham was the first team to find the back of the net, jumping out to an early 1-0 lead. Begin answered with a goal, but the Rams countered with a 5-0 run to take a 6-1 advantage. Reif halted the run with his first goal of the game. Following a Fordham goal, Black found the back of the net to trim the margin to 7-3. The Rams once again pushed the advantage to five, but Day closed out the quarter with a goal to make it 8-4.
In the second quarter, the home team increased its advantage to six, 10-4, before Garrahy slipped a ball past the keeper. Fordham would regain a six-goal edge heading into half time, 11-5.
The two teams played even in the second half.
Fordham started the third with a goal, but Reif responded with a score. Back-to-back goals by the Rams pushed the lead to 14-6, but Mulvey and Black answered to trim the margin back to six. The home team extended its advantage, but Day once again closed out a quarter with a goal to head into the final period down, 15-9.
The Rams opened the scoring in the fourth quarter, but Black countered with his third goal of the day. Fordham scored consecutive goals, but Black, Garrahy, and Bartlett were able to spark a 3-0 run to cut the margin to five. Fordham scored back-to-back goals to increase the lead to seven. Black provided the final margin, 20-14, scoring his fifth goal with 14 seconds remaining.
Up next, \the Midshipmen head to Erie, Pa. for three games, including a pair of MAWPC contests. Navy will play at Mercyhurst and against Gannon on Saturday, Oct. 18 before concluding the weekend against Bucknell on Sunday, Oct. 19. All three games will be played at the Hallman Aquatic Center.
