ANNAPOLIS, Md. — The United States Naval Academy water polo team earned a split on the second and final day of the Navy Open. The Midshipmen fought hard, but fell to No. 13-ranked Princeton University by a score of 15-9. In the late game, the Midshipmen jumped out to an early lead on Fordham and held on for an 8-7 victory.
“This weekend was all about learning and improving,” said head coach Luis Nicolao. “Against Princeton, we saw the level of play that we want to be at and we know what we need to work on in order to get there. In the game against Fordham, we made some mistakes but were able to hang on for the win. They are in our conference so we will have to play them a few more times this season. We have struggled with them lately so it was nice to be able to come away with a win.”
The win against Fordham was the first for Navy since 2015, snapping a four-game skid against the Rams.
Navy began the second day of the Navy Open with a valiant effort against nationally-ranked Princeton. The Midshipmen were balanced on offense with five players netting goals, but were unable net timely goals to change the momentum against the ranked foe.
The Mids were led by freshman Isaac Salinas (Spring City, Pa.) who netted his first collegiate hat trick, finishing the game with four points (three goals, one assist). Salinas was joined by teammates Bobby Lee (Santa Ana, Calif.) and Andrew Shashin (Buffalo Grove, Ill.) with two goals apiece.
In goal, Ronan Williams (Severna Park, Md.) worked a complete game. The junior finished the game with nine saves, including several to stop Princeton fast-break attempts. Williams effort allowed the offense the opportunities to attempt a comeback.
Salinas opened the scoring, netting a goal 20 seconds into the contest. Princeton answered, but Jake Haines (Ashburn, Va.) found the back of the net to put Navy in front, 2-1. The Tigers closed out the first quarter with four goals to take a 5-2 advantage.
In the second quarter, the Midshipmen posted a 3-0 run to tie the game at five. Lee bounced a shot off the goalpost to start the rally. Shashin followed with his first goal and Salinas tied the game, rattling his second goal of the contest off of the crossbar and left post. Princeton responded with five goals to end the half and take a 10-5 lead into halftime.
The third quarter saw Navy outscored Princeton, 3-1 to close the gap to 11-8. Following a Tiger goal, Shashin began the rally with his second goal of the game. Salinas’ third goal of the game trimmed the deficit to 11-7. With less than one tick left on the game clock, Lee fired a strike into the back of the net to go into the final quarter down 11-8.
Princeton used a pair of goals to increase the advantage to 13-8. Junior Trevor Clark (San Marcos, Calif.) answered with his first goal of the season, but the Tigers ended the game with a pair of goals to claim the 15-9 win.
Navy closed out the 2018 Open tournament with an 8-7 victory over Fordham. The Midshipmen used a 3-0 run in the second quarter to take the lead, which they never relinquished.
The Midshipmen were led by Lee who netted four goals in the contest. Shashin put forth a multi-goal effort, netting two.
Williams finished the game with 15 saves, while surrendering just seven goals. For the weekend, Williams notched 41 stops at goal en route to a pair of victories.
In the first quarter, the Mids jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, but a 3-0 run by Fordham put the Rams in front 3-2. Salinas continued his hot play to start his freshman campaign with a goal just 20 seconds into the quarter. Nate Reiff (Wheeling, Ill.) followed with a goal to give Navy the quick lead. Fordham responded with three goals to end the quarter and claim a one-goal advantage.
The second quarter saw the defense step up and shut out the Rams. Williams posted six of his 15 saves in the quarter, keeping Fordham off of the scoreboard. Navy was able to benefit from the defense by netting three goals to take the lead. Shashin started the scoring off of a deep pass from Williams to tie the game. Lee gave the Mids the lead, burying a pass from Jack Weggeland (Riverside, Calif.) into the back of the net. A Rams’ foul gave Lee a five-meter opportunity that the sophomore converted to give the Mids a 5-3 edge heading into halftime.
Shashin opened up the third quarter with his second goal of the game to extend the Navy advantage to 6-3. Fordham ended the run with back-to-back goals to cut the margin to one, 6-5. Once again, Lee answered with a pair of goals, including his second five-meter opportunity.
Leading 8-5, the Midshipmen limited the Rams to just a pair of goals in the second half to secure the victory. Leading by one with just two seconds left, Navy was whistled for a foul, leading to a Fordham five-meter chance. The Rams’ shot hit the right upright of the goal post allowing the Mids to run out the clock for the win.
Release courtesy United States Naval Academy Athletics Communications
