Navy Water Polo Finishes Second at CWPA Southern Division Championship

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11/2/2003 - Men's Water Polo
Navy Water Polo Finishes Second at CWPA Southern Division Championship

Senior Joe Donahue registered a team-high four goals in Navy's loss to Princeton Sunday.

LEWISBURG, Pa. - The Navy water polo dropped a 10-7 decision to Princeton Sunday afternoon in the title game of the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Southern Division Championship.

Navy (22-6), which qualified for the CWPA Eastern Championship in two weeks (Nov. 15-16), struggled by going two-for-10 on its power play, while the Tigers were four-for-seven.

"Today's game was pretty much a role reversal from the last time we played Princeton," Navy head coach Mike Schofield said. "The story of the game was Princeton's extra-man advantage. We just have to get back to work and prepare for Easterns coming up."

The teams went into the half tied at 3-3, but Princeton took control of the game in the third quarter. The Tigers outscored the Mids, 5-3, in the third stanza to build a 8-6 advantage. Trailing 10-7, Navy got a late score for the game's final margin.

Senior Joe Donahue (Annapolis, Md.) led Navy with four goals along with one assist and one steal. Alex Ratcliffe (So./Coronado, Calif.) registered a goal and two assists, while Joe Snelgrove netted a goal and grabbed two steals. Goalie Patrick McCreary (So./Edgewater, Md.) struggled in the cage, making just two blocks and two steals.

Navy will play host to the eight-team CWPA Eastern Championship (Nov. 15-16) in Lejeune Hall. The winner of the tournament will earn the league's automatic bid to the 2003 NCAA Tournament.