CLAREMONT, Calif. – The No. 16 ranked Pomona-Pitzer Men's Water Polo team opened up their conference home schedule with a 16-5 win over Occidental and then defeated Chaffey College by the score of 21-8.
With the wins, The Sagehens improve to 13-7 overall and 2-0 in the SCIAC. Occidental falls to 3-13 and 0-2 in conference play.
The Sagehens were led by sophomore Adam Ward and senior Timmy Hardman who each tallied a hat-trick with three goals each in the win.
The Sagehens and Tigers started out in a close contest as the offenses only combined for three goals in the first period. Freshman Zach Senator and Ward each found the back of the net for their first goals of the match as Pomona-Pitzer held a 2-1 lead after the first.
The Sagehens shut down the Tigers' offense in the second period and picked up their pace on offense as they outscored Occidental 5-1. Ward, sophomore Max Ries, Hardman, freshman Sam Gorcey-Biblowitz and Senator each scored goals to give the Sagehens a 7-3 advantage at halftime.
The Sagehens came out in the second half and continued their dominance on defense as they shutout the Tigers' offense in the third period. Ward, Ries, Hardman and senior James Baker helped push the lead to 11-3 heading into the final period of play.
Pomona-Pitzer tacked on five more goals to its total in the fourth as they held on to open up their home SCIAC schedule with a win.
The Sagehens then took on Chaffey College in game two of their doubleheader.
Senior Nic Lanker and freshman Riley Mangan both tallied a career-high in goals as Lanker notched six and Mangan tied his career-high with four goals in the win for the Sagehens.
Pomona-Pitzer's offense came out on fire in the first as they ended the period with a 9-1 lead over Chaffey College.
The Sagehens kept their offense going in the second as six different players found the back of the net and pushed their lead to 17-5 at halftime.
The Pomona-Pitzer defense came out and played a sound second half and the Sagehens outscored the Panthers 4-3 in the second half to hold on for the marginal victory.
Up Next: The Sagehens next host their Senior Day on Saturday, October 22nd against Whittier College at 11:00 a.m.
