BRONX, N.Y. — In the Fifth Place game of the Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) Championship, the United States Naval Academy water polo team recorded a 17-14 victory over Wagner College at Fordham University’s Col. Francis B. Messmore Aquatic Center. The Midshipmen trailed 2-0 early, but used an 8-0 run to take control of the game and never looked back.
“It is always good to end the season with a win,” head coach Luis Nicolao said after the game. “The tournament didn’t go exactly the way we wanted it to, but we finished with three wins and our one loss was only by two goals to a team that played in the championship game. This was a tough season, but I am proud of the guys. They fought to the very end in every game – win or lose. The seniors received their service assignments on Thursday and will now set their sights on commissioning and beginning their military careers. For the rest of the guys, its time take the lessons learned from this season and start preparing for next year.”
Offensively, the Midshipmen finished the game with 17 goals. The Mids were led by Michael Heller (Menlo Park, Calif.) who tallied three scores, while Jake Altmayer (Pasadena, Calif.), Rory Begin (Bakersfield, Calif.), Will Clark (Laguna, Beach, Calif.) and Chris Kim (Los Angeles, Calif.) added two scores apiece. Travis Berzins (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.), Peter Hillen (Orinda, Calif.), Cole McKechnie (Laguna Beach, Calif.), Tommy McKnew (Tiburon, Calif.), Holden Seybold (Aliso Viejo, Calif.) and Kyle Yelensky (Stamford, Conn.) rounded out the scoring with one goal each. Begin paced the squad with five assists, while Clark and Caden Capobianco (Laguna Beach, Calif.) added three helpers each. Ivan Pang (El Monte, Calif.) also notched multiple assists, finishing with two.
Defensively, Capobianco worked a majority of minutes between the posts at goal for the Midshipmen. The junior recorded 10 saves in the win before giving way to Jack Hightower (San Diego, Calif.) for the final three and a half minutes of the fourth quarter. Connor Simpson (San Rafael, Calif.) led the way with two steals, while McKnew and Yelensky drew a pair of ejections drawn apiece to pace the squad.
Wagner started the game with back-to-back goals to take an early 2-0 lead. Navy responded with an 8-0 run that closed out the first quarter and went midway into the second period. Seybold opened the run with a goal and Heller followed with consecutive scores to give the Mids a lead they would not relinquish. Altmayer ended the first quarter with a score to push the Navy lead to 4-2. Begin and Berzins opened the second quarter with goals before Altmayer found the back of the net for the second time in the first half. Yelensky ended the run with a goal, putting the Midshipmen in front, 8-2. The Seahawks chipped into the Mids’ lead with a pair of scores, but McKechnie and Heller answered to extend the advantage back to six goals, 10-4. Wagner cut the margin to five with a goal, sending the game into halftime with Navy ahead 10-5.
In the second half, Begin and Kim started the third quarter with consecutive scores to extend the advantage to 12-5. Wagner closed the gap with two scores, but Clark was able to counter with a score. Two more Seahawk goals closed the margin to 13-9, but Clark once again found the back of the net to push the Midshipmen advantage back to five, 14-9.
Wagner closed the third and opened the fourth with goals to trim the margin to three, 14-11, but McKnew and Hillen netted some insurance goals to extend the advantage back to five scores, 16-11, with six minutes remaining. Following a Wagner goal, Kim scored the final Midshipmen goal of the game with under five minutes to play.
With a sizable lead and time running down, the Mids worked the shot clock on their next few possessions before tossing the ball out of play. The Seahawks were able net two goals to provide the final margin of 17-14.
Release courtesy United States Naval Academy Athletics Communications
