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Navy Cruises Past Washington & Jefferson and Johns Hopkins to Reach Southern Championship Title Game
LEWISBURG, Pa. -- The No. 12-ranked Navy water polo team advanced to the finals of the CWPA Southern Division Championship with a pair of impressive wins on Saturday. The two wins improve Navy's record to 19-8 overall.
Navy has now won eight games in a row, and has won at least 19 games in each of the last 28 years.
In the first game, a 19-1 victory over Washington & Jefferson, Navy got a balanced attack as all 28 players suited saw action. The Mids were paced by Arny Warren and Stevie Ray with three goals each and Matt Carlson with a pair. Fourteen players scored goals in all for the Mids.
Brett Rajchel and Dominic Valentini stopped three shots each and Chase Hansen stopped one goal.
In the second game, the Mids defeated Johns Hopkins, 12-9. The two teams were tied at three after one quarter, but Navy surged ahead 6-4 at halftime. Navy pushed the lead to 10-5 after three quarters. The Blue Jays cut the lead to two midway through the fourth quarter, but Navy scored the next two goals and held on for the three-goal victory.
"It was an up-and-down game that started pretty slow," said Navy assistant coach Mladen Stanicic. "We had a good middle part of the game, then relaxed a little bit and allowed JHU to get back into the game."
Kyle Wertz had a monster game for the Mids, scoring a career-best six goals. Ray and Johnny Meiners had two goals, while Kevin Bell and Conor Handley tallied one goal each. Rajchel stopped five shots in goal for the Midshipmen.
With the wins today, Navy qualifies for the CWPA Eastern Championships in two weeks at Cambridge, Mass.
The Mids will go for their 12th Southern title in 17 years on Sunday afternoon against Princeton, at 3:30 pm. Navy has defeated Princeton twice in three previous meetings so far this year.
Release courtesy Navy Athletic Communications
