CLAREMONT, CA. – The Pomona-Pitzer Men's Water Polo Team dominated Saturday's doubleheader, taking down the Occidental College Tigers in the morning 14-7 followed by a lopsided 20-5 victory over La Verne.
Season Impact: The Sagehens are now 15-7 overall and undefeated in the SCIAC with an 8-0 record.
Pomona-Pitzer def. Occidental 14-7
The Sagehens managed to pull past the Occidental Tigers in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader thanks to their well-balanced offense. Adam Ward led the Sagehens offense with four goals and had one assists while Noah Sasaki added three goals. Sam Sasaki scored two and recorded two assists while Dylan Elliott led the defense with three steals.
The home side wasted no time getting ahead, scoring 12 seconds into the match as Elliott found the net off a pass by Sam Sasaki. Sam followed two minutes later with an unassisted goal to double the lead. Elijah Havens cut the Sagehens' lead in half, scoring the Tigers' first goal with 2:34 left, but 14 seconds later, Sam Gorcey-Biblowitz made it 3-1 on an unassisted show. The Sagehens lead 4-1 after the first period.
The Tigers battled back, starting off hot in the second period with two consecutive goals to cut the deficit to one. However, Ward came through with two straight goals and Sam Sasaki capped a 3-0 run with power play goal to make it 7-3 at halftime.
Pomona-Pitzer never looked back in the third period, as Ward scored twice to extend the lead 9-3. From 3:47 left in the third period to 2:27, Noah Sasaki overwhelmed the Tigers with a hat trick in that short time to put the game out of reach with the Sagehens ahead 12-4. The Sagehens added a pair of goals in the final period as they finished the first game of the doubleheader 14-7.
Pomona-Pitzer def. La Verne 20-5
The second game of the doubleheader yielded a more lopsided result as the Sagehens throttled La Verne with a huge scoring clinic. Jacob Niskey led the team with four goals while Ward and Adam Gross added three goals each. Elliott had another excellent game on both sides of the pool with two goals and three steals.
Ward opened up the scoring a minute and thirteen seconds into the first period but Danilo Lugli of La Verne quickly equalized it 45 seconds later. The deadlock didn't last for long as a goal by Gorcey-Biblowitz and a pair from Niskey helped the Sagehens pull away 4-1. Elliott and Gross capped the first period with a goal each to help the Sagehens lead 6-1.
After the Leopards scored once to open up the second period, the Sagehens continued to unleash a flurry of goals, going on a 5-0 run while James Kelbert made a handful of spectacular saves to stifle the Leopards' offense. The Sagehens led 11-2 at halftime.
The Leopards never mustered much of a comeback while the Sagehens picked up where they left off. They went on to win easily 20-5.
Up Next: The Sagehens will travel to Orange, CA on Wednesday, October 24 to face Chapman University at 7:00 p.m.
