ERIE, Pa. – The Navy water polo team (15-7, 7-1) completed play at the Hallman Aquatic Center in Erie, Pa. with a 19-14 Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference win over Bucknell (7-11, 4-5). The Midshipmen played three games, including a pair of conference games over the weekend, finishing 3-0 in Erie.
"It was a good weekend for us," head coach
Luis Nicolao said. "Any time you can go 3-0 on a road trip and pick up a pair of conference wins is a good weekend. We had a lot of guys come up big for us this weekend. We were able to get a lot of guys into the pool. There are still some things we can improve on, but we are playing well at the right time of year. We look forward to being back home next weekend."
Ten Midshipmen found the back of the net in the game, including six players who notched multiple goals.
Aiden Day led the team with four scores, while
James Mulvey added three scores – all in the second quarter.
Aiden Berry,
Kiefer Black,
Orion Erwin, and
Maddox Garrahy followed with two scores each, while
Rory Begin,
Matt Mai-Prasarnsuk,
Holden Seybold, and
Billy Zech added one apiece to round out the scoring.
Ryan Munch worked a complete game at goal for the Mids. The sophomore finished with 12 saves, while adding a pair of steals.
The two teams exchanged goals early. Zech got the scoring started with an early goal, but Bucknell countered with back-to-back scores. Garrahy tied the game at 2-2 and Navy regained the lead on a Mai-Prasarnsuk score. Begin pushed the advantage to two, but the Bison trimmed the margin back to one. Just before the end of the quarter, Munch intercepted a pass and threw it down pool to Black who connected with Day in the middle for the goal to increase the advantage to 5-3.
In the second quarter, the Midshipmen increased their lead to four. Bucknell opened the scoring in the quarter to cut the margin to 5-4, but three straight goals by Erwin, Garrahy, and Seybold extended the Navy lead to 8-4. The Bison slipped one by the goalie, but Mulvey countered with three consecutive goals to give the Mids a six-goal lead. Bucknell was able to cut the margin to four, 11-7, with back-to-back scores before the half.
The two teams played even in the third quarter, trading goals throughout the period. Bucknell scored the first goal of the quarter, but Day countered with a score. Following a Bison goal, Erwin found the back of the net. Bucknell scored back-to-back to trim the margin to 13-11, but Black fired a laser past the keeper to extend the advantage back to three. The Bison once again cut the margin to two, but Berry notched goals on consecutive possessions to give Navy a 16-12 lead through three quarters.
In the final quarter of play, Navy jumped out quick with a 3-0 run to go up by seven. Day scored back-to-back goals and Black added a goal from way outside to put the Mids up 19-12. The Midshipmen worked the clock and used solid defensive play to limit Bucknell to just a pair of goals over the final four-plus minutes of the game and secure the 19-14 victory.
Up next, the Midshipmen return home for a pair of games. The Mids welcome George Washington to Lejeune Hall on Friday, Oct. 24 for a MAWPC game before concluding the weekend with Iona at Scott Natatorium on Saturday, Oct. 25 at 9:00 a.m. The game against the Gaels will be broadcast on Navy Athletics YouTube.
