By Scott Padula
Writer
Bison fans filled Kinney Natatorium this past weekend to watch the men’s water polo team go 2-2 against CWPA Southern Division rivals Princeton, Johns Hopkins, George Washington and the Naval Academy. The Bison opened the stretch by falling to No. 16 Princeton 9-8 in overtime last Friday night. The Orange and Blue bounced back Saturday, defeating Johns Hopkins 12-10 and George Washington 12-5. In a highly-anticipated conclusion to the weekend, the Bison lost to No. 17 Navy 10-8. The Orange and Blue are now 10-4 on the season and 5-3 in divisional play.
The Bison began the divisional stretch against the Princeton Tigers. Ten different Bison accounted for the 21 goals scored. More impressively, the Bison assisted on 20 of these 21 goals. Alex Nowlin ’14 had a team-high four assists and five points. Brian Barron ’13 led all Bison scorers with three goals. In goal, Matt Napleton ’13 blocked six shots and stole the ball four times. As a team, the Orange and Blue tallied 17 steals.
In the Bison’s first action on Saturday, the Blue Jays started the game strong, taking a 6-3 advantage into the half. The Orange and Blue would not be denied in the second half, outscoring the Blue Jays 9-4. The momentum shifted considerably in the third quarter as the Bison netted five goals compared to John Hopkins’ one. The win was in large part thanks to Julian Colina ’14 who tallied three goals and an assist. Jack Else ’14 also had four points with an even two goals and two assists. Napleton recorded 11 saves in 32 minutes.
In the nightcap, the Orange and Blue defeated George Washington in the 1,000th game in program history. The victory was a balanced effort as six different Bison posted a multi-point game. In particular, Beau Caillouette ’12 recorded a game-high six points with four goals and two assists. Else matched Caillouette in scoring. On the defensive end, Napleton had a strong performance with 10 saves in 32 minutes of action.
In the final game of the weekend, the Orange and the Blue faced Navy. The Bison took a 3-2 lead into the intermission and ended the third quarter ahead 6-4. In the fourth, the Orange and Blue were unable to contain Navy. The Midshipman scored six goals in the final quarter, more than they managed in the first three quarters combined. Nowlin netted two goals and dished out two assists. Caillouette and Mike Kimble ’14 collectively recorded an impressive 12 ejections, and Napleton had produce 15 total saves.
“In the Navy game, we played well enough for three quarters to establish a lead, but failed to finish. Our team needs to focus on closing out games in the future. Hopefully this weekend will be a good learning experience for our team as we head into some very important tournaments to end our season,” Napleton said.
The Orange and the Blue will travel to the West Coast this weekend where they will compete in the Santa Clara Rodeo.