CLAREMONT, CA. – The No. 17 Pomona-Pitzer Men's Water Polo team walked away from Gary Troyer going 3-1 over the two days after a 18-8 loss to No. 12 Pepperdine and a 14-13 win over Wagner on Saturday at Haldeman Pool.
Pepperdine 18, Pomona-Pitzer 8
The Sagehens were led by Sam Sasaki and Dylan Elliott who each shared a team-high two goals in the loss.
The Sagehens struggled to find goals early on against the Waves as they were shut out in the first period. The defense performed well in the first quarter as well as it held Pepperdine to just two goals as they trailed 2-0 after the first.
The Waves started to click on offense as they opened the second with two goals to grow the lead to 4-0. The Sagehens got on the board with a goal from Noah Sasaki but Pepperdine responded with three more to extend the lead to 7-1. Sam Sasaki netted a goal late In the first half but the Sagehens trailed 8-2 at the break.
The Sagehens matched Pepperdine goal for goal in the third as each team scored four goals in the period. Benjamin Sasaki, Elliott and Sam Sasaki all netted goals in the third but the Sagehens couldn't gain any ground as they went into the fourth with a six-goal deficit.
Pomona-Pitzer tried to gain ground late on the Waves but Pepperdine built too much of a lead early on as they held off the Sagehens for the win.
Pomona-Pitzer 14, Wagner 13
The Sagehens were led by Elliott who netted four goals in the win. Adam Gross, Benjamin Sasaki and Sam Saki all had two goals as well while Kellan Grant got the win in goal with 12 saves and four steals.
Wagner started out the game with an early lead until Elliott's first goal of the game gave the Sagehens a 3-2 lead with 3:04 left in the first. The Sagehens grew its lead to 5-3 early in the second period but Wagner outscored Pomona-Pitzer 6-2 in the second. The Seahawks opened the period with four-straight goals to take an 8-5 lead and after a goal from Benjamin Sasaki, the Sagehens trailed 9-6 at halftime.
The Sagehens climbed back into the game in the third Gross and Elliott netted goals to cut into the lead at only trailed by two at 11-9 entering the fourth period. Benjamin Sasaki got the deficit down to one and Elliott tied the game at 11-11. The Sagehens finally reclaimed the lead after gross scored with 4:57 left in the game but Wagner scored back-to-back goals to take back the lead at 13-12.
After two lead changes, Noah Sasaki tied the game and after a Wagner exclusion, Sam Sasaki scored the game-winning goal with 1:10 left to play. The Sagehens needed some big stops on defense and got them as Grant stayed solid in-between the posts and secured the win for the Sagehens in the final game of the Gary Troyer Tournament.
Up Next: The Sagehens will next travel to Occidental on Wednesday, September 6th at 7:00 p.m.
