Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell's Matt Napleton Named CWPA Southern Division Defensive Player of the Week for Fourth Time in 2012
10/23/2012 8:00:00 AM | Men's Water Polo
Oct. 23, 2012
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Bucknell senior goalie Matt Napleton (Oak Park, Ill./Fenwick) was named the CWPA Southern Division Defensive Player of the Week, the conference office announced Tuesday. The senior co-captain had a banner performance in five games at the Santa Clara Rodeo, posting a save percentage of .633.
An eight-time CWPA Southern Division Defensive Player of the Week in his career, Napleton posted 57 saves and yielded just 33 goals in more than 136 minutes of playing time as he helped the No. 17 Bison to a 2-3 record against a difficult schedule that featured four ranked opponents. Napleton's save percentage was above .500 in all five games over the weekend.
Napleton posted a weekend-high 15 saves against No. 13 Air Force, while he closed the tournament with 10 saves and two steals in a 14-6 win over No. 16 UC Davis. Napleton helped hold the Aggies scoreless for nearly 19 minutes as Bucknell reeled off 11 consecutive goals.
Thanks to three double-figure save performances at Santa Clara, Napleton now has 14 such outings in 24 games. His success in the cage has limited six of Bucknell's last seven opponents to fewer than 10 goals.
Napleton now has a career-high 252 saves this year, a figure that ranks 11th on the program's single-season list. His 583 career saves places him sixth on that list as he passed Rupert deVink (580) this past weekend.
Bucknell (11-13) and Napleton are in the midst of preparing for the postseason. The Bison will host the Southern Championships Nov. 2-4. The top four teams will then move on to the Eastern Championship, an event Bucknell has qualified for 12 consecutive years.
