Black Breaks United States Naval Academy Single Game Goal-Scoring Record as No. 17 Midshipmen Swamp Biola University, 15-10, & Division III No 5 California Lutheran University, 24-16, on Final Day of the United States Air Force Academy’s Rare Air Challenge
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Sophomore Kiefer Black broke the United States Naval Academy water polo program’s single-game record for goals and points to lead the No. 17 Midshipmen on the final day of the United States Air Force Academy’s Rare Air Challenge. The Mids started the day with a 15-10 win over Biola University before Black scored a record 10 goals and six assists for a program-record 16 points to lead Navy to a 24-16 win over Division III No. 5 California Lutheran University.
Black broke the previous record of nine goals in a game, originally set by Brian Wineke against Slippery Rock University in 1993 and matched by Isaac Salinas at Johns Hopkins University in 2018 and Black last season against George Washington University. The 16 points topped Wineke’s previous mark of 11 against Slippery Rock in 1993, while the six assists was the top performance in program history, topping the previous mark of five by many players – most recently Rory Begin last season.
Additionally, Luis Nicolao reached another milestone, recording his 100th victory as the Navy head coach.
“Kiefer is a special player,” noted Nicolao. “Every day, he goes out and works hard trying to do whatever it takes to help this team win games. Ten goals in a game. School record in goals and points. It is so impressive. That being said, Kiefer does such a good job of getting others the ball. He had six assists against Cal Lu and is one of the best on the team in getting others involved.
“It was a great weekend here in Colorado. We were able to get some wins and play well as a team. A lot of different guys contributed in a lot of ways. There is still room for improvement, but I am very happy with how we played this weekend.”
Offensively, Navy scored 39 goals in two games on the final day of the event. Black led the team with 13 goals on the day, including his school-record 10 goals against Cal Lutheran. The sophomore finished the day with 21 total points, adding eight assists, including six against the Kingsmen.
Quinn Bartlett added five goals on the day with Michael Heller and Holden Seybold adding four and three scores, respectively. Orion Erwin, Austin Kahn, Connor Cashman, Matt Mai-Prasarnsuk, Tommy McKnew and Billy Zech added two goals apiece with Henry Williams and Jack Clark both adding one score. Williams was second on the team with five assists on the day.
Defensively, the Midshipmen saw a pair of goalkeepers split time between the posts. Jack Hightower saw action in both games, finishing the day with 19 saves and five steals, while Jack Rodoni recorded a stop against Cal Lutheran.
Navy opened the final day of competition at the Rare Air Challenge with a 15-10 win over Biola.
Erwin got the Midshipmen on the scoreboard with a goal, but Eagles countered with a goal to knot the game at one-all. Navy regained the lead as Black found the back of the net for the first time on the day, putting the Mids in front 2-1 through one quarter of play.
In the second quarter, Heller converted a five-meter opportunity to push the advantage to a pair. Biola trimmed the margin to one, but Bartlett extended the lead back to two at 4-2. The Eagles used a goal to close the gap to one heading into halftime.
The two teams matched one another in the third quarter with each team scoring three goals in the period. Black, Mai-Prasarnsuk, and Heller all scored goals in the frame for the Midshipmen, but Navy led by just one, 7-6, through three quarters.
In the fourth quarter, Navy was able to pull away and secure the win. Heller pushed the lead to two, but Biola scored to trim the margin back to one. The Mids used a 4-0 run that featured goals by McKnew, Mai-Prasarnsuk, and Kahn (twice) extended the lead to 12-7. The Eagles countered by scoring three of the next four goals with Black notching one for the Midshipmen. Leading by three, Navy used goals by Erwin and Bartlett to close out the game and secure the win.
Navy completed the sweep with a win against Cal Lutheran, 24-16. Black broke three school records and the Mids finished four goals shy of tying the team record for goals in the eight-goal victory.
The Midshipmen jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead thanks to back-to-back scores by Black and a goal by Seybold. Following a goal by the Kingsmen, Cashman pushed the advantage back to three. Cal Lutheran trimmed the margin to 4-2, but Heller answered with a score. The designated home team pulled to within one at 5-4, but Williams ended the quarter with a goal to put Navy in front by two.
In the second quarter, the Mids extended their advantage to five. Bartlett started the quarter with a goal, but the Kingsmen answered to cut the margin back to two. Zech and Seybold netted back-to-back scores to extend the Midshipmen advantage to four at 9-5. Cal Lutheran countered with two goals, but a pair of goals by Black around a strike from Clark gave Navy a 12-7 lead. Black added two more goals between a pair of Kingsmen goals to send the game into halftime with the Mids in front by a 14-9 count.
Black scored two of Navy’s four goals in the third quarter to extend the lead to 18-11. Zech and Bartlett also found the back of the net in the eight minute span.
The two teams traded goals in the fourth quarter with the Midshipmen holding a slight 6-5 advantage over the Kingsmen in the span. Black and Seybold each scored twice in the period with Cashman and Bartlett adding goals. Senior team captain Liam McInerney added two assists in the fourth quarter to help Navy secure the 24-16 victory.
Release courtesy United States Naval Academy Athletics Communications
