Dec. 7, 2008

Courtesy of Loyola Marymount

STANFORD, Calif. - Loyola Marymount (21-10) used a run of 10 consecutive goals encompassing a stretch of 15:07 over the first through third periods to take third place at the 2008 National Collegiate Men's Water Polo Championship with an 11-4 victory over the U.S. Naval Academy (20-11) Sunday at Stanford's Avery Aquatic Center.

Tibor Forai led the Lions with four goals, three of those coming courtesy of five-meter penalty shots. Tim Hummel added a pair of 6-on-5 scores while on defense goalkeeper Andy Stevens made 12 saves. Stevens finished the tournament with 28 saves to establish himself as one of the top goalies in the nation.

Navy opened the game's scoring 1:40 into the contest as Johnny Meiners ripped the net to give the Midshipmen the 1-0 lead. But that lead would be short-lived, as Brian Benedetti's goal just 17 seconds later evened things out and opened up LMU's 10-0 scoring run.

Forai's two penalty scores in the first period opened up a 4-1 lead after the opening eight minutes, and Hummel's power-play goals opened a five-goal second period to give the Lions a 9-1 lead at the break.

Kyle Wertz notched his second hat trick of the weekend by scoring all three of Navy's goals in the second half.

NCAA Consolation Final
Navy - 1 0 1 2 = 4
LMU - 4 5 1 1 = 11
Navy Goal Scorers: Wertz 3, Meiners
LMU Goal Scorers: Forai 4, Hummel 2, Asasavicius, Benedetti, Fair, Lormant, Milligan
Goalie Saves: Rajchel 11 (USNA); Stevens 12 (LMU)