The recent surge by Stefan Aleksic ’16 continued on Oct. 17 when he tallied six points on seven of the men’s water polo team’s goals against Navy. It was still a losing effort for the squad, falling 9-7.

The Orange and Blue (11-5, 4-3 CWPA) are now ranked 13th nationally after the loss to Navy. The two teams have split the season series thus far, with both victories coming at the home team’s pool. The Bison have defeated the Midshipmen in three of their last four contests.

Facing Navy for the second time in under a week, Aleksic tallied three goals and three assists. The senior has a team-leading 57 points on the season, as well as 325 points throughout his career.

Charlie Niehaus ’18 had seven saves in net, while four other Bison besides Aleksic scored. Tommy Stupp ’18, RJ Moore ’17, Jeff Hagen ’18, and Nate Hunter ’17 all tallied scores. Hagen is second on the team with 31 goals, while the assist by Sean Daley ’17 gave him a team-leading 28 on the season.

The score was tied four times throughout the match, but Navy grabbed the lead early in the second half. The Bison could not complete the comeback despite scoring twice in the final quarter.

The Orange and Blue will now travel to California on Oct. 23 to face Pacific and participate in the Santa Clara Rodeo. No. 4 Pacific is a non-conference opponent, while the Santa Clara Rodeo will feature four non-conference opponents. The Bison won 5-0 in this tournament a season ago.