BALTIMORE/ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The United States Naval Academy water polo team split a day-night doubleheader with Division III No. 3-ranked Johns Hopkins University and No. 15 Bucknell University. The Mids used a record-tying nine-goal performance by freshman Isaac Salinas (Spring City, Pa.) to top the Blue Jays, 15-11, in Baltimore. In the nightcap, the Midshipmen were unable to overcome the offensive firepower of the nationally-ranked Bison, dropping a 12-8 decision at home in Annapolis.
“Today was a tale of two games,” stated head coach Luis Nicolao. “Against Johns Hopkins we came out strong and were able to put up some points. Salinas came up big for us and tied a school record. He is a strong player and it was good to see his hard work pay off for him. Against Bucknell, we had some missed opportunities. Bucknell is a tough team that can score and in order to compete with them you have to convert your opportunities. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to do that tonight.
“I am proud of the guys though. They have been working hard and the results have been showing on the scoreboard. We have a tough road trip coming up in California that will continue to test us. I am looking forward to it.”
Salinas paced the offense on the day, tallying 11 goals. The true freshman tied the Navy school record with nine goals, originally set by Brian Wineke against Slippery Rock University back in 1993. Bobby Lee (Santa Ana, Calif.) and Jack Weggeland (Riverside, Calif.) finished the day with multiple goals. The duo each scored a pair of goals against Bucknell, while Lee also chipped in a score against Johns Hopkins.
Ronan Williams (Severna Park, Md.) finished the day with 19 saves. The junior tallied 10 stops against the Blue Jays, while adding nine saves against the Bison. Williams surrendered nine goals to Johns Hopkins and 12 to No. 15 Bucknell. Max Sandberg (Newport Beach, Calif.) worked the fourth quarter against Hopkins, allowing three goals and making a pair of stops.
In the opening game at JHU, Navy relied heavily on Salinas in the early game against Johns Hopkins as the freshman tied a Midshipmen school record with nine goals.
The Mids jumped out to a 6-2 lead in the first quarter. Salinas scored three of the first four goals for Navy to earn the first quarter hat trick. He was joined by Alex Piecuch (Ladera Ranch, Calif.), Lee and Nate Reiff (Wheeling, Ill.) with goals in the first stanza.
The two teams each netted four goals in the second quarter for Navy to hold its four-point advantage, 10-6, heading into halftime. Salinas continued his scoring frenzy, netting three of the Mids’ four goals in the period to match Johns Hopkins’ offensive output of six goals. Trevor Clark (San Marcos, Calif.) also chipped in a goal to round out the second-quarter scoring.
Navy extended its lead to 13-8 in the third quarter. The Mids received goals from Cole Jacobs (Naperville, Ill.), Kevin Volkov (Freehold, N.J.) and Salinas to push the advantage to five goals. In the fourth quarter, Salinas responded to a Blue Jay goal with back-to-back goals, giving the freshman nine goals and increasing the Navy lead to 15-9. Johns Hopkins netted a pair of goals in the final two minutes to provide the final margin. The win gave Navy its fifth consecutive victory, marking the first five-game winning streak since the end of the 2014 (1 win) and start of the 2015 seasons (4 wins).
Returning home to Annapolis, the Midshipmen fell to the nationally-ranked Bison, 12-8. The Mids were unable to keep pace offensively, missing several key opportunities. Navy closed the game with 21 missed shots, including a penalty shot in the four-point loss.
Bucknell struck first, netting a pair of goals before Weggeland found the back of the net for Navy to cut the deficit in half, 2-1, at the end of the first quarter. Salinas knotted the score at two 21 seconds into the second quarter, but three goals by the Bison closed out the first half with the Mids trailing 5-2.
In the third quarter, Salinas again scored a quick goal, finding the back of the net just 23 ticks into the period. Bucknell answered with two goals, but Weggeland scored his second of the game to pull to within three. Following a Bison goal, Jesse Hainze (Bellevue, Wash.) snuck one past the goalie to once again pull the Mids to within three. Bucknell closed the quarter with a goal to go into the final frame up 9-5.
The Bison were the first to score in the fourth quarter, but Lee responded with back-to-back goals to close the margin to 10-7. Bucknell answered with two goals of its own. Carson Miller (San Diego, Calif.) provide the final margin, 12-8, with his first goal of the night.
Release courtesy United States Naval Academy Athletics Communications
