The Basics
• Score: Johns Hopkins-17, Navy-9
• Records: JHU (5-17), USNA (7-17)
• Location: Lewisburg, PA • Kinney Natatorium • The Short Story: The third-seeded Johns Hopkins water polo team got four goals each from sophomores Giorgio Cico and Ryan Masi to beat Navy, 17-9, in the opening round of the Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference Championship.

How it Happened
• Johns Hopkins jumped on top of Navy with goals from senior Giovanni Cragnotti and Masi in a 60-second span early in the first quarter. Navy cut the deficit in half with a goal from Jared Castillo at 3:52. The Blue Jays answered with a six-on-five goal from freshman Finn Banks and an even-strength goal by Masi to take a 4-1 lead with two minutes to play. Castillo got another for the Mids, but Cico and senior Matt Fraser came right back with a pair of goals to give the Jays a 6-2 lead at the break.
• Castillo completed his hat trick with a five-meter shot at 6:14 to pull within three. Hopkins answered with three straight goals to go up 9-3 at the 1:52-mark. Navy responded with a pair of goals, including another on a five-meter shot, to cut the deficit to four with 37 ticks the clock. But a Banks goal with 14 seconds left in the half gave Hopkins a 10-5 lead.
• Freshman Andres White and Fraser sandwiched goals around a strike from Tyler Zimmerman and JHU led 12-6 with 2:15 to go in the third quarter. Navy then got back-to-back goals in a 73-second span to pull within four. Sophomore Josh Kurtz answered with a man-up goal with 27 seconds to play in the quarter.
• Cico then opened the fourth quarter with his fourth goal of the night and the Blue Jays led 14-8. The Mids got a six-on-five goal from Patrick Carmody but it was answered with three straight JHU goals to account for the 17-9 final.

What it Means
• Johns Hopkins is now 7-50 all-time against Navy and has won two of the last three meetings. The eight-goal win is the Blue Jays' largest in the series' history.
• Hopkins advances to the conference semifinals for the second straight year and the third time in program history.

Inside the Box Score
• Cico finished with the four goals and a team-best five assists, one shy of his career high. Masi had a career day, finishing with a career-high four goals and six points. Cico moved into 16th place with 186 career points and 11th with 75 career assists.
• Fraser had a hat trick and four points to move into a tie for 11th in school history with 175 career goals. Kurtz also tallied four points (2g, 2a) and three steals. Banks and senior Bret Pinsker each drew three ejections while Banks also had three points.
• Senior John Wilson made 15 saves, including several on five-on-six situations, his 12th double-digit save total this season.

Up Next
• Johns Hopkins takes on second-seeded and 18th-ranked George Washington in the MAWPC Semifinals. The match is slated for a 6:00 pm start at Kinney Natatorium on Saturday, November 19.