ANNAPOLIS, Md. –- The Wheaton College (Mass.) men's water polo team fell in its season opener to host No. 17 United States Naval Academy, 21-5, this morning in the Navy Open held at Lejeune Hall in Annapolis, Md.

The Lyons slip to 0-1 on the season, while the Midshipmen, who are ranked in the most recent College Water Polo Coaches Division I national poll, improve to 6-5.

Sophomore utility player Spyros Rapsomanikis (Kerkyra, Greece) led Wheaton with a pair of goals, two assists, a steal and a drawn exclusion, while first year attacker Jackson Kesserman (Buena Park, Calif.) netted a goal and assisted on another. Sophomore two-meter defender Jack Ruggiero (Hamden, Conn.) netted a goal and added a steal and sophomore two-meter defender Josh Vander Wagen (Brookfield, Ill.) scored a goal. Sophomore goalie Dylan Boccali (Ventura, Calif.) stopped four shots and came up with a steal.

First year center Tyler Ter Keurst (Yucaipa, Calif.) led all players with six goals for Navy, while junior attacker Connor Cashman (Annapolis, Md.) scored four times. First year center Jack Reif (Naperville, Ill.) also contributed with a trio of goals.

The Midshipmen tallied the first six goals of the morning, including all three of Reif's markers. Kesserman found the back of the net for his first collegiate goal to put the Lyons on the board at the 4:11 mark of the first quarter. First year attacker Ryan Mondzelewski (Coronado, Calif.) capped a three-goal Navy burst to give the home team a 9-1 advantage with 2:28 to play in the quarter, before Ruggiero made it 9-2 with 38 ticks left for Wheaton. Ter Keurst scored the final goal of the quarter for a 10-2 cushion for the Midshipmen.

Navy scored two of the three goals in the second quarter to take a 12-3 lead. First year utility player Luke Kirincich (Menlo Park, Calif.) and Cashman each scored for the Midshipmen, before Rapsominikis netted Wheaton's only goal of the quarter with three seconds left on the clock.

Navy tallied all four goals of the third period to increase its advantage to 16-3. Cashman and Ter Keurst each netted a pair of goals in the quarter.

The Midshipmen scored four of the first five goals of the fourth quarter, led by two scores from Ter Keurst, to build their cushion to 20-4 with 2:05 remaining in the contest. Vander Wagen scored during the stretch for the Lyons to make it 18-4 at the time. Rapsomanikis cut the deficit to 20-5 with a goal at the 1:54 mark of the quarter for Wheaton, before Ter Keurst netted the final goal with 80 seconds to play in the game for Navy. 

The Lyons return to the pool later today at 4:40 p.m. to take on Salem University, while the Midshipmen host No. 8 (D3) Massachusetts Institute of Technology at 6:00 p.m.