Men's Water Polo | September 20, 2019

PHILADELPHIA – In a lively home opener against Navy on Friday, the Explorers fell to the Midshipmen 21-13. Navy proved too strong an opponent across all four quarters, despite junior Daniel Domotor's hattrick effort.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• It took three minutes, but Navy eventually took the lead, and added a second shortly thereafter. Domotor got the Explorers on the board and trimmed the deficit to 2-1. Navy, however, would finish the first strongly by scoring three straight.
• The second frame was much more contested. It seemed Navy would run away with it after they began with two more goals, had an even better response in store with three straight scores. With the game at 8-5, Navy netted one more to end the half with a degree of comfort.
• Navy again opened the scoring and La Salle again had an answer—this time through its seniors. Joey DeFusco and Luke Waechter found the back of the net and it was 10-7. The Midshipmen seemed to sense that the Explorers were within striking distance and the away side turned it up a notch, ending the quarter on a 6-2 run.
• Sophomore Tyler Williams opened the final frame with a goal to put the score at 16-10. If there was a question whether a late comeback was on for the Explorers in their home opener, Navy answered that definitively with four straight goals to put the game out of reach.

 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Domotor's dominance: La Salle's number seven has not been held to less than two goals since September 8th and is averaging three goals over his last five contests. Proving that he can also do a job on the defensive end, he has averaged almost three steals a game over that same period.
• Junior Ash Lyne was the other Explorer with a four-point game—most of his impact came as provider. With three assists against Navy, he has now averaged a trifecta of dishes over his last three games. 
• The one other player in blue and gold with a multi-goal game was junior Karl Miller with a pair of strikes on two shots.
• In addition to getting on the scoresheet, Waechter had a strong defensive game with a team-high four exclusions earned and a field block.
• In net, junior Cameron Schiable recorded seven saves and one steal.

 
UP NEXT

• La Salle travels to Lewisburg where it will play in the Bison Invite. The Explorers have two games on Saturday and another pair of contests on Sunday.