LEWISBURG, Pa. — Trevor Clark (Sr., San Marcos, Calif./Mission Hills) scored three times to net Player of the Game accolades as the United States Naval Academy closed out their 2019 season by downing No. 16-ranked Fordham University, 9-5, in the Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) Championship Third Place game hosted by Bucknell University at Kinney Natatorium.
Navy (16-13, 6-6 MAWPC-East) concludes the season with a series win against Fordham as the Midshipmen claimed a 15-12 win in the Bronx (October 19) and dropped an 11-6 decision at home in Annapolis during the regular season. Further, the squad’s 2-1 record during the weekend locked up the second winning record since 2015 for Navy.
Fordham jumped on the scoreboard first in the contest as Jake Miller-Tolt (Sr., Manhattan Beach, Calif./Mira Costa) stuffed in a shot with 6:51 left in the first quarter to provide the Rams an early 1-0 lead. Jake Altmayer (Fr., Pasadena, Calif./Loyola) equalized the score at 5:29, but Phillip Wang (Jr., San Jose, Calif./Bellarmine College Prep) rammed in a score with 2:49 on the clock for a 2-1 lead at the conclusion of the first eight minutes of play.
The tide turned in Navy’s favor during the second quarter as Kevin Volkov (Sr., Freehold, N.J./Christian Brothers Academy), Isaac Salinas (So., Spring City, Pa./Malvern Prep) and Will Clark (Fr., Laguna Beach, Calif./Laguna Beach) racked up back-to-back-to-back scores at 4:53, 3:57 and 22 seconds, respectively, to stake the Mids to a 4-2 lead heading into halftime.
Navy’s margin continued to balloon in the third quarter as Altmayer (7:22) and Cole Jacobs (Jr., Naperville, Ill./Naperville North) (6:12) bumped the margin to 6-2 less than two minutes into the second half. Miller-Tolt stymied the Midshipmen’s momentum by lining in a shot with 5:10 remaining in the frame and Wang whirled in a man-up strike at 2:54 to close the gap to 6-4 heading into the fourth quarter.
Clark and Navy torpedoed Fordham’s comeback hopes at the start of the final eight minutes in regulation as he arched in man-up (6:50) and natural (5:14) markers to double-up the Rams at 8-4. Sebastian Zapatero (Fr., Venice, Calif./Santa Monica) answered for Fordham with a power-play score at 4:47, but Andrew Shashin (Jr., Buffalo Grove, Ill./Stevenson) delivered the terminal damage by hitting the back of the cage at 2:17 for the 9-5 final score.
For Navy – which claims its inaugural Top Four finish at the MAWPC Championship after previously taking Fifth (2017 at home) and Sixth (2016 at Bucknell, 2018 at Fordham) – Clark was the only player to score multiple goals as Altmayer, Salinas, Jacobs, Clark, Volkov and Shashin each registered single markers. Ronan Williams (Sr., Severna Park, Md./Severna Park) earned the win between the pipes with 10 saves.
Fordham – which previously finished Third (2016 at Bucknell) and Fourth (2017 at Navy; 2018 at home) in the three prior MAWPC Championships – Wang keyed the Rams’ offense with a pair of goals. Zapatero, Miller-Tolt and Knoflick each accounted for single scores with goalie Bailey O’Mara (So., Darien, Conn./Darien) stopping four shots.
| 1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | – | FINAL | |
| U.S. Naval Academy | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 | – | 9 |
| No. 16 Fordham University | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | – | 5 |
| Fordham Goals: | Phillip Wang (2); Sebastian Zapatero; Jake Miller-Tolt; Tristen Knoflick | |||||
| Navy Goals: | Trevor Clark (3); Jake Altmayer; Isaac Salinas; Cole Jacobs; Will Clark; Kevin Volkov; Andrew Shashin | |||||
| Saves: | Fordham – Bailey O’Mara (4) ; Navy – Ronan Williams (10) | |||||
| Exclusions: | Fordham – 6 ; Navy -10 | |||||
| Advantage Opportunities: | Fordham – 1-for-10 ; Navy – 1-for-6 | |||||
| Sprints: | Fordham – 3-for-4 (2nd, 3rd, 4th) ; Navy – 1-for-4 (1st) | |||||
| Cards/Misconducts: | None | |||||
| Officials: | Mike Gordon ; Igor Mernenko | |||||
United States Naval Academy’s Jack Weggeland (#9) prepares to shoot against Fordham University’s Phillip Wang (#6)
Fordham University’s Jake Miler-Tolt (#3) shoots as the United States Naval Academy’s Jack Weggeland (#9) defends
Untied States Naval Academy’s Jesse Hainze (#10) locks up with Fordham University’s Oscar Nomura (#8)
The United States Naval Academy’s Will Clark (#15) chases down Fordham University’s Sam Wheeler (#11)
The United States Naval Academy’s Bobby Lee (#2) picks out an opening as Fordham University’s Dimitris Koukias (#2) tries for a steal
