CLAREMONT, Calif. — The United States Naval Academy water polo team posted a pair of victories on the first day of the the 2019 Gary Troyer Tournament. Competing at Pomona-Pitzer Colleges Haldeman Pool, the Midshipmen opened the day with a 13-12 victory over the United States Air Force Academy before the Mids picked up a 19-11 win against Division III No. 5-ranked Chapman University.
“Today was a great day,” said head coach Luis Nicolao. “Air Force was a back-and-forth game that we were able to come away with a win. Isaac has been clutch for us all season so it was no surprise that he would come through big for us in game one today. Against Chapman, we started off slow, but we were able to pull away in the third quarter and close it out in the fourth.”
“This tournament has a solid field of competitors so finishing the day 2-0 is big. We still need to come out tomorrow quickly and with intensity. Hopefully, we can continue to improve and get the results we want.”
Offensively, Navy tallied 32 goals on the day. The Mids were led by sophomore Isaac Salinas (Spring City, Pa.) who recorded a pair of hat tricks for a team-high eight goals on the day. Bobby Lee (Santa Ana, Calif.) finished the day with four goals, while Will Clark (Laguna Beach, Calif.) and Kevin Volkov (Freehold, N.J.) added three goals apiece. Clark added a team-high three assists on the day, giving the freshman six total points to go along with his first collegiate hat trick.
Defensively, Max Sandberg (Newport Beach, Calif.) and Ronan Williams (Severna Park, Md.) each worked a game at goalie for the Mids. Sandberg started the day picking up a victory against the Falcons. He finished the game with four saves to go along with a team-high three steals. Williams posted 11 saves against Chapman with a pair of saves.
In game one, Navy and Air Force battled back-and-forth exchanging goals.
After one quarter of play, The Midshipmen held a slight 4-3 advantage over the Falcons. Cole Jacobs (Naperville, Ill.), Salinas and Lee combined for the four goals. In the second quarter, the Mids extended the advantage to five, 8-3. However, the Falcons closed out the second quarter and began the third quarter with four straight goals to close the gap to 8-7. Salinas closed the third quarter with a goal to give Navy a 9-7 edge. In the fourth quarter, the two teams exchanged goals, knotting the score at 12-12. With just under a minute to play, Salinas found the back of the net to give Navy a one-goal win over its rival.
In the second game, Navy fell behind 2-0 early, but the Midshipmen responded with three straight goals to take a 3-2 lead. The two teams traded goals. Tied 5-5, Navy took control of the game. The Mids pulled away with a 5-0 run. Nate Reiff (Wheeling, Ill.), Clark, Jacobs, Lee and Jack Weggeland (Riverside, Calif.) each scored goals during the run. Navy finished the third quarter, outscoring Chapman, 8-3 to lead 15-8. The Mids closed out the game with a 4-3 quarter with goals Volkov, William Lowdon (Hillsborough, Calif.), Tiernan Brunner (Timonium, Md.) and Bobby Wall (San Mateo, Calif.).
Release courtesy United States Naval Academy Athletics Communications
