Irvine, CA - April 11 - The 2022 National League came to a close at Woollett Aquatics Center in Irvine, CA yesterday evening with New York Athletic Club a perfect 7-0 on the way to a league championship. Los Angeles Athletic Club finished as the runner-up while The Olympic Club took home third place. For complete Week 3 results, see below. For more information on the National League, including current standings, click here.

Week 3 Results
New York Athletic Club 13 - USA Academy (Blue) 6
Riptide 12 - USA Collegiate 11
USA Academy (Red) 14 - Alumni 10
Los Angeles Athletic Club 11 - USA Academy (Blue) 4
USA Collegiate 15 - Alumni 9
New York Athletic Club 12 - Los Angeles Athletic Club 9
New York Athletic Club 12 - Alumni 2
USA Collegiate 13 - USA Academy (Red) 8
Los Angeles Athletic Club 10 - Alumni 8
New York Athletic Club 20 - Riptide 9

Final 2022 National League Standings
Two points are awarded for a win and one point for a shootout loss.

1. New York Athletic Club (7-0) 14 points
2. Los Angeles Athletic Club (6-1) 12 points
3. The Olympic Club (4-3) 9 points
4. Riptide (4-3) 8 points
5. USC (2-2) 4 points
6. USA Collegiate (2-4) 4 points
7. USA Academy (1-8) 3 points
8. Alumni (1-6) 2 points

New York Athletic Club Runs The Table: New York Athletic Club swept their season schedule this year, including going 4-0 on this last weekend, to become 2022 USA Water Polo National League Champions! NYAC started Week 3 with a convincing 13-6 win over USA Academy (Blue) before facing off with Los Angeles Athletic Club on Saturday night in a match that ultimately decided the championship. NYAC fell behind early, trailing 4-1 after the first period, but regained that ground during a 5-2 second quarter that found the score even at 6-6 at halftime. In the third period, the two teams traded goals to enter the final frame still tied at 8-8. After LAAC opened the fourth quarter with a goal to take the lead, NYAC took control of this decisive match. Josh Stiling and Alex Roelse each found the back of the net, then Alex Obert put the exclamation point on the victory with two goals in the final minutes to put NYAC ahead for good, 12-9.

On Sunday, New York Athletic Club cruised to a pair of victories to officially secure the league title. NYAC turned up the defense in a 12-2 win over Alumni before closing strong against Riptide with a 20-9 victory in the final National League match of 2022.
 

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Los Angeles Athletic Club Caps Off Great Season: Los Angeles Athletic Club ultimately took second place in the 2022 National League season after a 6-1 overall record. LAAC recorded two victories this weekend in addition to their lone loss of the year to NYAC. LAAC's first win came over USA Academy (Blue), 11-4, during which goalkeeper Zack Rhodes recorded 11 saves and four steals. Then, LAAC finished play against Alumni last night and came away with a 10-8 victory. Jacob Mercep recorded five goals on the weekend to put himself in a three-way tie for top goal scorer in the league.

Week 3 Stars: Lucas Gielen of New York Athletic Club had the single-game high for goals scored with six in the win over Riptide. Zack Rhodes of Los Angeles Athletic Club and Chris Whitelegge of New York Athletic Club split the weekend lead for league-high +/- rating, both registering +9.2 in their respective games. Whitelegge was also the best in the cage this weekend, recording 14 saves for NYAC in their win over Riptide.

Overall League Leaders: Thanks to 6-8 Sports, we are able to declare the best individual performances throughout the 2022 National League season overall. Los Angeles Athletic Club's Jacob Mercep was the league leader in overall +/- with a +40.7 cumulative rating. Mercep also joined The Olympic Club's Patrick Fellner and Riptide's Connor Turnbow-Lindenstadt as the league's top overall goal scorers with 19 goals a piece. Riptide's Alex Wolf led all goalkeepers on the season with 89 saves.

Up Next: New York Athletic Club now turns its attention to the Fisher Cup in San Diego on May 14-15. NYAC will compete as the National League champions and more teams will be announced in the future.

Stat Watch: 6-8 Sports is the official stat program of the National League. In addition to live scoring during the matches, 6-8 Sports provides box scores and league leaders. Stats are available at 68Scores.com.

Video Highlights: USA Water Polo TV was on site this weekend in Irvine to profile some of the matches. Highlights from those matches will be available this #WaterPoloWednesday on the Counter Attack. The program is available at YouTube.com/USAWP.

Social Media: The hashtag #USAWPNL is the official hashtag of the National League. Whenever you are posting information on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram about the National League, remember to add #USAWPNL. Have your voice heard in the National League conversation!