BERKELEY, CA. – The No. 18 Pomona-Pitzer Men's Water Polo team went 0-2 in day two of the MPSF Invitational with a 13-8 loss to No. 12 Pepperdine and a 19-7 loss to No. 11 San Jose State on Saturday afternoon.
With the losses, the Sagehens drop to 6-6 overall.
Pepperdine 13, Pomona-Pitzer 8.
The Sagehens were led by Noah Sasaki who was the only Sagehen to score more than one goal in the loss. Jack Mallery, Kyle Green, Dylan Elliott, Keegan Coleman, Benjamin Sasaki, and Andrew Plaschke all chipped in with one goal each.
The Sagehens struggled on offense early on against the Waves as they fell behind to a 3-0 deficit early in the first. Pomona-Pitzer scored one goal in the first quarter after Noah Sasaki found the back of the net to cut the Waves' lead down to 3-1 entering the second quarter.
The Sagehens then matched Pepperdine on goals with each team netting four in the second quarter. Sasaki scored again to open up the quarter and Coleman and Plaschke followed to tie the game at 4-4 with 5:52 left in the half. Pepperdine answered the Sagehens goal surge, but Pomona-Pitzer answered again from Benjamin Sasaki to tie it back up at 6-6. The Waves got a little breathing room at the end of the second with two goals to end the half and take a 7-5 advantage into halftime.
Pepperdine opened the second half with a goal to take a three-goal lead and the Sagehens only got on the board one time with Mallery in the third quarter as they trailed 10-6 heading into the fourth.
With the Sagehens trailing by four, they only got two goals back in the fourth quarter and couldn't come back for the upset win over Pepperdine.
San Jose State 19, Pomona-Pitzer 7
The Sagehens were led by Coleman who had a team-high two goals in the loss.
San Jose State got the early jump on the Sagehens with the opening goal and outscored the Sagehens 4-2 in the first quarter. The Sagehens answered the first two goals of the game as Timothy Mangan and Noah Sasaki scored to even the score at 2-2 with 2:54 left in the first, but The Spartans ended the first with two unanswered goals to make it 4-2 after one.
The Spartans piled on their lead in the second and third quarters outscoring the Sagehens 10-3 in those quarters combined. San Jose State grew its lead to 7-2 before Adam Gross netted a goal followed by Plaschke, but the Spartans wouldn't let the Sagehens back into the game as they closed out the fourth with a 5-2 advantage on goals and handed the Sagehens their third loss of the MPSF Invitational.
Up Next: The Sagehens will next take on Loyola Marymount on Sunday, September 26th at 10:00 a.m.
