ANNAPOLIS, MD – Host Navy jumped on the Johns Hopkins water polo team early and held on for a 15-11 win in MAWPC action Friday night.
 
The Mids scored the game's first two goals to take the early lead. Graduate student Emerson Sullivan cut the lead in half with a five-meter goal at 5:08. Navy answered with four straight to take a 6-1 lead after one. Freshman Dado Soares and Sullivan scored back-to-back goals to open the second and pull the Blue Jays back within three.
 
Navy responded with another four-goal run to push out to a 10-3 lead with 3:01 to play in the half. Sullivan halted the run with his third goal of the night at 1:14 to make it a 10-4 game at the break. He made it two straight with the first score of the third, making it a five-goal game. The Mids answered with goals from Travis Berzins and Chris Kim to go up 12-5.
 
Sullivan and junior Paul Gensbigler sandwiched goals around one from Berzins and Navy led 13-7 after three. Senior Chris Freese scored to open the fourth, but the Mids answered with two goals in 34 seconds to go up 15-8. Sullivan scored again, followed by scores from sophomore Chris Lo and junior Seth Berk and it was a four-goal game with 20 seconds to play but that would do it.
 
Hopkins returns to action on Saturday, October 29 as the Blue Jays host George Washington at 5:00 pm.
 
Inside the Box
Goals: Sullivan-6, Berke-1, Gensbigler-1, Freese-1, Soares-1, Lo-1
Assists: Brooke-2, Palfi-2, Soares-2, Berke-1, Poisler-1, Mihalopoulos-1
Steals: Sullivan-2, Freese-2, Soares-2, Pearson-1, Berke-1, Raley-1, Lo-1
Saves: Pearson-11
 
Notes: Soares now has 39 assists on the season and needs five to tie Giorgio Cico's record for assists by a freshman (44) • Sullivan moved into a tie for third in JHU history with 42 career blocks • Pearson needs just one save to move into a tie for fourth in program history.