ORANGE, CA. – The Pomona-Pitzer Men's Water Polo team held onto a narrow 12-11 win at Chapman on Saturday morning at the Allred Aquatics Center.
Season Impact: With the win, the Sagehens remain in first place at 14-14 overall and 7-1 in SCIAC play.
The Sagehens had three players earn a hat-trick as Alexander Peterson, Sam Sasaki, and Matija Jancic all netted three goals in the win. Benjamin Sasaki, Andrew Plaschke, and Jack Ryan all chipped in with one each and Liam Byrne picked up the win inside the cage with 12 saves and one steal.
The Panthers got out to an early lead against the Sagehens with the game's first goal just under the five-minute mark of the period. Sasaki and Peterson responded with goals in the first, but the Sagehens trailed Chapman 3-2 heading into the second quarter.
Sam Sasaki and Ryan got the Sagehens their first lead of the game after back-to-back scores to open the second quarter, but Chapman answered with three of the final four goals of the first half to take a 6-5 lead at halftime.
Jancic came out of halftime to reclaim the lead for the Sagehens with two-straight goals, but the Sagehens struggled to hold onto the lead as the Panthers answered with two of their own to take an 8-7 lead with just under a minute remaining in the third. Plaschke answered with a big goal in the final seconds of the third to head into the final quarter all tied up at 8-8.
The fourth quarter was big for the Sagehens after they started out with a goal from Jancic to take an early lead in the fourth. The Sagehens and Panthers began to alternate goals in the fourth, but the big moment came as Peterson and Sam Sasaki netted back-to-back goals to give the Sagehens a two-goal lead at 12-10 with just over a minute remaining.
The defense came up big late in the fourth quarter after they held Chapman scoreless for the final 4:30, with the Panthers scoring a goal as time expired to cut it to one. Pomona-Pitzer was able to hang out late on the road and keep a comfortable lead at the top of the SCIAC standings.
Up Next: The Sagehens will next host Austin College on November 4th at 7:00 p.m.
