IRVINE, Calif. – The #18 Navy water polo team (10-2) trailed by as many five goals in the third quarter to #8 UC Irvine (12-5) at the Anteater Athletics Complex before mounting a comeback attempt that fell just short at the Midshipmen dropped an 11-10 decision to the Anteaters.
"Today was a tough one," head coach
Luis Nicolao said after the game. "We fell behind early, but the guys never gave up. They fought their hearts out today and we just ran out of time. Give credit to Irvine. They are a good team. Top 10 for a reason. Even though it didn't go our way today, I think we proved to everyone that we can compete against anyone and that no matter who we are in the pool against, it is going to be a battle until the end."
Offensively, seven Midshipmen scored with three players notching multiple goals.
Declan Bartlett,
James Mulvey, and
Jack Reif each scored twice, while
Quinn Bartlett,
Colin McPhail,
Jack Pointner, and
Luka Sekulic also found the back of the net.
In goal,
Jack Rodoni earned the start with
Ryan Munch entering the game in the second half. Rodoni was credited with five saves, while Munch notched four stops.
D. Bartlett opened up the scoring to put Navy in front 1-0 early. UCI Irvine countered with back-to-back goals, but Mulvey evened the game at 2-2 with a goal. From there, the Anteaters took a 5-0 run over the next eight and a half minutes into the second quarter to take a 7-2 advantage. McPhail halted the with a goal, but UCI was able to close out the first half with a score to regain a five-goal advantage, 8-3.
Navy cut the margin to four as Reif scored to start the second half. UC Irvine scored to retake a five-goal advantage. The Midshipmen countered with goals by Q. Bartlett and Sekulic to cut the deficit to three, 9-6. The Anteaters ended the period with a goal to stretch their advantage back to four, 10-6.
In the fourth quarter, Mulvey netted his second goal of the game to cut the margin to three. After a defensive stop, the Midshipmen turned the ball over, leading to an easy counter attempt by the Anteaters. Pointner was able to cut the deficit to three with a goal. The Mids used a goal by Reif to close the margin to two, 11-9. With 30 seconds remaining on the game clock, D. Bartlett found the back of the net to pull Navy to within one, 11-10. UC Irvine was able to possess the ball for the final 30 seconds and hang on for the one-goal victory.
Up next, the Midshipmen return to the East Coast for a pair of Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference games in Pennsylvania next weekend. Navy will travel to Erie, Pa. to take on Mercyhurst on Saturday, Oct. 3 at 1:00 p.m. before concluding the weekend in Lewisburg, Pa. to face Bucknell on Sunday, Oct. 4 at 12:00 p.m.
