CLAREMONT, CA. – The Pomona-Pitzer Women's Water Polo won the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Championship as they defeated Cal Lutheran 8-2 on Sunday afternoon at Haldeman Pool.
The Sagehens have now won back-to-back SCIAC Championships and won six of the last seven titles on the women's side.
The Sagehens were led by the 2018 SCIAC Tournament MVP in Kyla Pickell who was a force all tournament long for the Sagehens at the two-meter position and led the team with two goals in the Championship game.
The Sagehens and Regals were caught in a tough battle with some very good defense and goalie play early on. Morgan Stockham and Haley Crabtree split time in goal for the Sagehens with Stockham stopping five shots and coming away with three steals while Crabtree came up with seven saves of her own in the win.
Pomona-Pitzer also had a hard time finding the back of the net early against Regal goalkeeper Bailey Meyer. The Sagehens scored the first goal of the game on a power play as Morgan McCracken scored and Nohea Kahaulelio notched a late goal in the first to give the Sagehens a 2-0 lead.
Each team netted one goal in the second after Cal Lutheran scored their first goal of the game to cut the lead down to 2-1 but the Sagehens ended the half with a goal from Kahea Kahaulelio to take a 3-2 lead heading into the half.
The Sagehens took control of the game in the third as they outscored the Regals 3-1. Pomona-Pitzer opened up the second half with back-to-back goals from Jocelyn Castro and Janelle Lewis to take a 5-2 lead. Cal Lutheran responded just 30 seconds later but the Sagehens added one more to their total with under one minute remaining to extend the lead to 6-2 heading into the fourth.
Pickell sealed the match for the Sagehens as she netted the only two goals in the fourth period as the Sagehens were able to hold on and take the 2018 SCIAC Championship.
Up Next: The Sagehens were will await the NCAA Selection show on Monday, April 30th at 8:00 p.m. ET to find out their next opponent in the NCAA Tournament.
