IRVINE, Calif. — The No. 18-ranked United States Naval Academy water polo team improved to 10-1 on the season by recording a pair of upset victories in the Anteater Aquatics Complex at the University of California-Irvine Mini Tournament.
In each game, the Midshipmen fell behind by three goals and rallied to win. The Mids posted a 13-10 victory over No. 17 Santa Clara University in the first game of the day before earning a 19-18 overtime win against No. 11 Loyola Marymount University.
In the first game, Navy trailed by three on two separate occasions in the first half (3-0 and 8-5) before chipping away and taking a second-half lead to defeat Santa Clara by three.
In the nightcap, the Midshipmen were down 14-11 with two minutes remaining in the third quarter to Loyola Marymount. The Mids outscored the Lions 4-1 over the next 10 minutes to force overtime. In the extra period, Navy fell behind by two goals, but rallied to tie the game at 18-18. With three seconds remaining in overtime, Ramsay Letteau Stallings buried a pass from Kiefer Black into the back of the net to give the Midshipmen their second upset win of the day.
“Wow,” head coach Luis Nicolao said of the day. “This team showed a lot of heart today. We fell behind by three goals in each game, but this team never panicked. The guys remained calm, chipped into the lead, and were able to come away with two huge wins. Everyone who got in the pool contributed to these wins. Mulvey was huge in game one. Kiefer and Luka were the stars in the second game, but it was Ramsay who was able to get the game winner. Munch and Rodoni at goal kept us in each game. I could go on and on. It was a total team effort against two really good teams!”
Luka Sekulic led the way for the Midshipmen on the day. The senior recorded a team-high five goals on the day, including five scores in the victory over LMU. Black and Quinn Bartlett followed with four goals apiece. Black added a team-high 10 assists on the day, including six helpers against Santa Clara. Declan Bartlett and James Mulvey chipped in three goals apiece with Aiden Day, Jack Pointner and Jack Reif chipping in two goals each. Maximus Arnold, Connor Cashman, Letteau Stallings, Colin McPhail and Billy Zech also found the back of the net with Letteau Stallings’ lone goal being the game-winner in overtime.
At goal, Ryan Munch and Jack Rodoni each earned victories on the day. Rodoni notched 13 saves with four steals in the win against Santa Clara, while Munch tallied 14 stops in the overtime win against Loyola Marymount.
Navy opened the day with a three-goal victory over Santa Clara. The Midshipmen overcame a three-goal deficit on a pair of occasions to record the victory.
Santa Clara began the game with a 3-0 run, highlighted by a pair of five-meter goals. Pointner and Mulvey countered with goals to cut the margin to one. The Broncos extended the margin back to two goals, but Reif cut the deficit in half, 4-3. The designated home team scored their third five-meter goal of the first quarter to take a 5-3 lead into the second quarter.
The younger Bartlett started the second quarter with a goal to close the gap to one, but Santa Clara responded with a goal. Day found the back of the net to trim the margin back to one, but back-to-back goals by the Broncos extended their advantage back to three, 8-5. Sekulic closed the first half with consecutive scores to send the game into halftime with the Midshipmen down one, 8-7.
In the third quarter, Navy was able to take control of the game. Building off of the two Sekulic goals to close out the second quarter, the Midshipmen outscored the Broncos 3-0 in the third quarter to take a lead it would not relinquish. Q. Bartlett knotted the game at eight with Pointner giving the Mids their first lead of the day. Mulvey pushed the advantage to two with his second goal of the game.
Mulvey opened the final quarter of play with his third goal of the game, while Q. Bartlett extended Navy’s lead to four – the largest lead for either team. Santa Clara netted its first goal of the second half to cut the margin to three, but D. Bartlett converted a five-meter attempt to push the lead back to four. The Broncos scored to trim the Mids’ advantage to 13-10, but the Navy defense was able to close out the game and preserve a three-goal victory.
In the second game, Navy would need overtime in order to pick up its second upset win of the day.
Loyola Marymount started the scoring with a goal, but D. Bartlett knotted the score at 1-1. Reif gave Navy its first lead of the game, but LMU quickly tied the game at two. The Midshipmen regained the lead thanks to Sekulic’s first goal of the nightcap, but once again the Lions knotted the score. Cashman found the back of the net to give Navy another advantage, but back-to-back goals by Loyola Marymount gave the designated home team the lead. D. Bartlett knotted the game for the fifth time in the first quarter. LMU closed out the frame with a goal to take a 6-5 advantage.
In the second quarter, the two teams continued to match one another. McPhail, Sekulic, and Black each scored to tie the game before Sekulic’s third score of the first half put Navy in front 9-8 through the first two quarters of play.
Loyola Marymount used a strong third quarter to take a 14-11 lead with two minutes remaining in the period. The Lions outscored the Midshipmen 6-2 through the first six minutes of the frame, capitalizing on missed opportunities by Navy. The two goals were scored by Q. Bartlett and Black. Trailing by three, Black scored with 19 seconds remaining to send the game into the fourth with the Mids down just two, 14-12.
The Midshipmen rallied in the fourth quarter. Sekulic scored to pull Navy to within one. Following a LMU goal, Black and Zech scored goals to tie the game at 15-15 and force overtime.
The Lions opened the overtime period with back-to-back goals to take a 17-15 advantage. Arnold closed the gap to one just before the two teams switched sides of the pool. In the second half of overtime, LMU pushed the advantage back to two, but Sekulic and Day countered with goals to lock the score at 18-18 with 24 seconds to play. The Navy defense forced a LMU turnover. Sekulic drove the ball down the pool passing to Black who found an open Letteau Stallings who buried the ball in the back of the net for the game-winner with three seconds on the clock. Munch was able to deflect the desperation shot attempt by Loyola Marymount as time expired to preserve the victory.
Release courtesy United States Naval Academy Athletics Communications
