PRINCETON, N.J. — The United States Naval Academy water polo team posted a split in a pair of games at Denunzio Pool in Princeton, N.J., as the Mids won a 12-10 decision in a Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC)-East Region game against Wagner College before battling and ultimately dropping a 12-10 result to host/No. 14-ranked Princeton University.
“We did extremely well this weekend,” said head coach Luis Nicolao. “We went 2-1, including a pair of conference wins. The only loss was by two points to a top 15 team. I am so proud of the guys. They stepped up and played hard. Beating Princeton would have been great, but getting a pair of conference wins to start 3-0 in league play is huge for us. We have a little time off from playing games to get our legs back under us and work on some things before making our second half push.”
Senior captain Ronan Williams (Severna Park, Md.) was stellar at goal for the Midshipmen on the day. The goalie posted 23 saves on the day. He started the day with 15 stops against Wagner, surrendering 10 goals to the Seahawks. Williams limited the potent Princeton offense to 12 goals, while notching eight saves in the contest.
“Ronan was great for us today,” Nicolao said of his senior captain. “He came up with some big stops and kept us in the game against Princeton. We had our opportunities and it was in large part because of Ronan.”
Offensively, the Midshipmen tallied 22 goals on the day. Isaac Salinas (Spring City, Pa.) led the team with seven goals on the day, while Trevor Clark (San Marcos, Calif.), Bobby Lee (Santa Ana, Calif.) and Merle Richman (La Jolla, Calif.) added three goals apiece. Salinas notched a hat trick against the Seahawks posting a five-goal performance. Salinas was joined in game one by Jake Altmayer (Pasadena, Calif.) and Richman who chipped in two goals apiece. Clark, Lee and Salinas led the team against Princeton with two goals each.
In the day’s opening game, Navy and Wagner battled back and forth in a game that remained tight the whole way through.
The Midshipmen jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the first quarter with Salinas, Altmayer and Clark finding the back of the net. The Seahawks answered in the second quarter, winning the quarter, 3-1, to send the game into halftime tied at four-all. Altmayer was the only Mid to score in the second quarter.
In the third quarter, Navy regained the lead. Salinas opened the quarter with back-to-back goals before Wagner scored. Lee and Richman followed with goals to push the advantage to 8-5. The Seahawks closed the gap to one with consecutive goals to close the quarter.
Wagner knotted the game at eight-all in the start of the fourth quarter. Peter Hillen (Orinda, Calif.) ended the Seahawk run and gave Navy the lead it would not relinquish. Salinas converted a five-meter attempt before adding his fifth goal of the game. Richman scored a goal in between a pair of Wagner goals to secure the 12-10 victory and improve to 3-0 in the MAWPC-East.
Prior to the game against the Tigers, the Princeton water polo team took a moment to recognize current Navy head coach and former Princeton play-caller Nicolao. Nicolao amassed a 402-163 overall record in 20 years as the leader of the Tigers.
Princeton jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead but Navy rallied to knot the score as Salinas and Clark slammed home goals. The nationally ranked Tigers closed out the first quarter with back-to-back goals to take a 4-2 advantage.
The Tigers increased their advantage in second quarter scoring three out of four goals to go into halftime in front 7-3. Richman was the only Midshipmen to find the back of the net in the second quarter.
In the third quarter, the two teams traded goals with Princeton in front 10-6 at the end of the quarter. Jack Weggeland (Riverside, Calif.), Lee and Clark each posted goals in the quarter, equaling the Tigers.
The fourth quarter saw Navy battle back to close the gap. Navy used scores from Cole Jacobs (Naperville, Ill.) and Zach Luci (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) to open the scoring in the frame. Following a Princeton goal, Lee and Salinas notched back-to-back goals to pull two within one at 11-10. The Tigers closed out the game with a goal to provide the final score of 12-10.
Release courtesy United States Naval Academy Athletics Communications
