ANNAPOLIS, Md. — The United States Naval Academy water polo team swept a day/night Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) doubleheader at home in Scott Natatorium. The Midshipmen opened the day with a 21-8 victory over Mercyhurst University before notching a 22-12 defeat of Mount St. Mary’s University in the nightcap.
“It is always good when you can get wins in conference play,” said head coach Luis Nicolao. “We were able to get a lot of guys in the pool and come away with a pair of victories. We were able to score a lot of goals today, which is great, but our defense played extremely well keeping Mercyhurst and the Mount out of the goal and leading to transition goals on the offensive side. We have one more conference game this weekend and we will need to continue to play well as a team if we want to continue to have success.”
Sixteen different Midshipmen found the back of the net on the day.
Kiefer Black led the charge with a team-high six goals to go along with a team-best four assists for 10 points. With his 10 points on the day, Black moves into third place in career points in the Navy annals with 358, passing Greg Mendenhall (’97) who had 356 career points. Additionally, with his six goals, Black sits at 200 career goals, becoming the eighth Midshipman in program history with 200 or more goals.
Rory Begin followed with eight points on five goals and three assists while Ryan Mondzelewski and Luka Sekulic closed out the day with six points on five goals and an assist apiece. Aiden Day added five points on a balanced two goals and three assists, while Connor Cashman (four goals), Ramsay Letteau Stallings (one goals, three assists), James Mulvey (one goal, three assists) and Jack Rodoni (one goal, three assists) followed with four points each. Jack Mason (three goals), Billy Zech (three goals) and Austin Kahn (three assists) added three points apiece, while Matt Mai-Prasarnsuk (two goals), Jackson Snapp (two goals), Aiden Berry (one goal, one assist), Orion Erwin (one goal, one assist) and Jack Hightower (two assists) added two points each. Quinn Bartlett (one goal), Luke Kirincich (one assist) and Holden Seybold (one assist) closed out the point scorers for the Midshipmen.
Ryan Munch led the team with 12 saves on the day, while Rodoni followed with seven and Hightower added five. The trio combined for seven steals with Rodoni leading the charge with three takeaways and Hightower and Munch adding two steals apiece.
The Midshipmen started the day strong with a 21-8 victory over Mercyhurst.
Navy started the game with a 3-0 run to take an early lead that it would not relinquish. Day scored two of the three goals with Begin scoring a goal during the run. Following a Laker goal, Begin converted a five-meter opportunity to push the advantage to 4-1. Mercyhurst cut the margin to 4-2, but back-to-back goals by Snapp and Cashman extended the lead to 6-2 through one quarter of play.
Mason started the second quarter with the first of his three goals of the period. Begin followed with a score to complete his first-half hat-trick. Mercyhurst scored a goal, but Mason completed his hat-trick with consecutive scores. Mondzelewski added a goal to extend the advantage to 11-3. With time winding down, Rodoni launched a ball from his spot in goal over the Mercyhurst keeper’s head and into the net for his first career goal.
In the second half, Mercyhurst started the scoring with a goal. Navy countered with goals by Mulvey and Mondzelewski. The Lakers were able to find the back of the net once again, but Cashman (twice) and Mondzelewski combined for three goals to close out the third quarter and take a 17-5 lead.
Cashman added a goal to start the fourth quarter. The visitors used a five-meter to cut the margin to 18-6, but Letteau Stallings responded with a goal to push the advantage to 13. Mercyhurst added a goal, but Snapp and Mondzelewski built the lead to 21-7. The Lakers scored one final goal, but the Midshipmen ran out the clock to secure a 21-8 victory.
Navy closed out the day by posting a 10-goal victory over Mount St. Mary’s, notching a 22-12 victory to improve to 4-0 in conference play.
The Midshipmen jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead thanks to a pair of goals by Zech. The Mountaineers scored a goal, but Berry answered to regain the two-goal edge. Mount St. Mary’s found the back of the net, but Begin and Mai-Prasarnsuk countered with goals to end the quarter with Navy in front, 5-2.
In the second quarter, Black scored his first goal of the contest to push the lead to four, but the Mount countered with a goal to trim the margin to three. Sekulic and Black scored to give Navy an 8-3 lead, but back-to-back scores by Mount St. Mary’s trimmed the margin to 8-5. The Midshipmen closed out the first half on a 4-0 run thanks to goals by Bartlett, Black, and Sekulic (twice).
Mount St. Mary’s opened the second half with consecutive scores to trim the margin to five at 12-7. Black converted a five-meter attempt to put Navy in front by six. Mai-Prasarnsuk doubled up the Mount, 14-7, with a goal. The Mids and the Mount traded goals to close out the quarter with Black and Sekulic finding the back of the net for Navy to take a 16-9 lead into the final quarter of action.
The Mountaineers scored a goal to start the fourth quarter, but the Mids used goals by Black and Erwin to push the advantage to eight. Following a Mount St. Mary’s goal, Navy used a 4-0 run with goals by Sekulic, Zech, Begin and Mondzelewski to put the game out of reach. The Mount scored to provide the final margin, 22-12.
Release courtesy United States Naval Academy Athletics Communications
