CLAREMONT, CA. – The Pomona-Pitzer Men's Water Polo team came away with a big 14-6 win over SCIAC opponent Occidental on Saturday morning at Haldeman Pool.
Season Impact: with the win, the Sagehens remain in first place in conference play and improve to 12-14 overall and 5-1 in SCIAC play.
The Sagehens were led by Matija Jancic who led all scorers with five goals in the win. Sam Sasaki joined Jancic with a hat trick while Kyle Green netted two and Luca Bozzo, Alexander Peterson, and Conrad Hugar had one. Liam Byrne got the win in the cage and had a big performance with 12 saves against the Tigers and one steal.
Pomona-Pitzer came away with a statement win over the current No. 2 team in the SCIAC after they jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead after Jancic scored off of an early powerplay. The Tigers answered with a goal but the Sagehens went on a run with three-straight goals to end the first quarter from Hugar and two from Sam Sasaki to take a 4-1 lead into the second.
The Sagehen offense kept firing on all cylinders and went on to outscore Oxy 5-1 in the second and 9-2 in the first half. Second-quarter goals from Bozzo, Jancic, Peterson, and Green gave the Sagehens a seven-goal lead heading into halftime.
Pomona-Pitzer opened the third quarter with three-straight goals from Ben Sasaki, Jancic, and Sam Sasaki to take their largest lead of the game at 12-2 before Occidental netted their only goal of the third quarter. The Sagehen defense stepped up big as they limited Occidental to just one goal in each of the first three quarters.
The Tigers outscored the Sagehens 3-2 in the final quarter after the game was well out of reach as the Sagehens cruised in the fourth quarter to come away with the win at home.
Up Next: The Sagehens will next head to CMS on Wednesday, October 26th at 7:00 p.m.
