Pomona-Pitzer Defeats Claremont-Mudd-Scripps To Win SCIAC Men's Water Polo Tournament
(First-place match)
POMONA-PITZER 7, CLAREMONT-MUDD-SCRIPPS 4
In a matchup of the top two seeds, the Sagehens captured the SCIAC Championship with an outstanding defensive effort to notch a 7-4 victory over cross-street rival Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in the title match. The Hens controlled the fourth quarter by outscoring the Stags 3-0 over the final eight minutes of play to help avenge a defeat to CMS during the regular season.
CMS took an early 2-0 lead on goals from Brian Chong and John Holland, but the Sagehens drew even courtesy of goals from Jason Cox and Jaron Moler for a 2-2 tie. Jarrod Gaut converted on a goal off a rebound with 12 seconds left in the quarter to give Pomona-Pitzer its first lead of the contest at 3-2.
Pomona-Pitzer continued its momentum in the second quarter, receiving a goal from Mark Hudnall with 4:01 left in the frame. It would be the only goal scored in the frame as the Sagehens led 4-2 at the break. The Stag defense tightened, holding the Sagehens scoreless through the entire third period. John Holland broke the CMS scoring drought with a goal at 4:49. Brian Chong deposited a shot in the lower right corner of the net to tie the Hens at 4-4 with 2:51 left in the third.
In the fourth quarter, Moler skipped in a shot with 5:43 to give the Hens a 5-4 advantage. From there, the Pomona-Pitzer defense led by goalkeeper Kyle Pokorny shut down the CMS attack on numerous possessions. The Hens received a steal by Jason Cox with 1:12 left, and on the ensuing possession, they took advantage of a 6-on-5 opportunity when Ryan Higgins drove a shot past the CMS defenders for a 6-4 with 48 seconds remaining. Cody Moore added an insurance goal with six seconds left to punctuate the win.
Moler tallied a pair of goals while Pokorny finished with 14 saves for Pomona-Pitzer. Chong and Holland recorded two goals each for the Stags.
(Third-place match)
REDLANDS 9, CAL LUTHERAN 7
Redlands used a late surge to power past Cal Lutheran in the third-place match to prevail 9-7. Knotted at 6-6, Jeff Parsons broke the tie with a penalty shot with 6:51 remaining to ignite a 3-0 scoring run against the Kingsmen.
The Bulldogs would later receive goals from Curl and Matt Zaggy within a span of a minute for a 9-6 lead with 2:11 left to play. Cal Lutheran grabbed an early 3-1 lead before a pair of Bulldog goals forged a 3-3 tie.
Quinn Curl's goal gave Redlands its first lead of the contest at the 3:58 mark of the third quarter. Cal Lutheran answered with back-to-back goals from Dejan Novakovich and Carter Baldwin at the end of the third stanza to tie the game at 6-6.
Parsons paced the Bulldog offense with a team-high three goals followed by Curl with two. Gross paced Cal Lutheran with three goals while Baldwin added two in the loss.
WHITTIER 11, LA VERNE 10
The Leopards trailed much of the way before going on a 3-0 run in the fourth quarter as goals from Kyle Thorsness to pull even in the final minute. Whittier led by as many as three in the first half on its way to 7-5 halftime lead. Bonander totaled a pair of goals in the first two quarters. The Poets stretched their lead to 9-5 on a goal from Carlos Panfilo.
Whittier led 9-6 at the end of the third quarter. The Leopards had several chances to get within a goal but were turned away on each occasion. Wes Paulson found the back of the net with 3:30 remaining to give Whittier a 10-7 lead.
Thorsness finished with three goals for the Leopards followed by Andrew Mackay and Emerson Gant with two each.
(Seventh-place match)
OCCIDENTAL 16, CALTECH 10
