CLAREMONT, CA. – The Pomona-Pitzer Men's Water Polo lost the battle of the No. 1's as they fell to Division one powerhouse Stanford 16-4 on Saturday morning at Haldeman Pool. The Sagehens came back to beat SCIAC opponent Chapman 21-15 later in the afternoon as well.
Season Impact: With the split, the Sagehens move to 9-11 overall and 4-1 in conference play.
Pomona-Pitzer 4, Stanford 16
The Sagehens were led by Kyle Green who netted two goals in the loss while Sam Sasaki and Matija Jancic each scored a goal as well.
Pomona-Pitzer had their hands full hosting the No. 1 team in the country for their first game of the day as Stanford started out with five goals in both the first and second quarter to take a 10-0 lead into the half. Stanford netted five goals in the third as well, but the Sagehens found the back of the net for the first time of the afternoon as Jancic made it 12-1 with 5:15 left in the third.
The Sagehens had a competitive second half against Stanford and outscored the Cardinal in the fourth quarter 3-1 after goals from Green and Sam Sasaki, but the Sagehens couldn't stay with Stanford early as they fell 16-4.
Pomona-Pitzer 21, Chapman 15
The Sagehens were led by Ben and Sam Sasaki who each had five goals in the win while Sam Sasaki also added seven assists. Matija Jancic also netted a hat-trick with four goals while Kyle Green and Conrad Hugar had two each and Maxim Koretsky and Alexander Peterson ended the game with one apiece.
The Sagehens jumped ahead early in the first off back-to-back powerplays from Green to take a 2-0 lead. Pomona-Pitzer grew its lead to 3-0 after Jancic added a goal, but the Panthers came back strong in the first after they scored five of the next six goals to take a 6-5 lead into the second.
Pomona-Pitzer tied the game early in the second quarter after Sam Sasaki netted a goal, but the two teams kept alternating goals to keep Chapman up 8-7 with 3:34 to go before halftime. The Sagehens went on to score four-straight goals as Sam Sasaki and Hugar scored to reclaim the lead at 9-8 and Sam and Ben Sasaki added two more to make it a two-goal lead at 11-8 with just over a minute to play in the second quarter. Chapman took advantage of a late powerplay and scored the final goal of the half, but the Sagehens still held an 11-9 lead heading into the break.
The third period was a big one for the Sagehen after they outscored Chapman 6-4 to open the game and create a little breathing room heading into the fourth. Ben Sasaki had four goals in the third alone while Koretsky and Bozzo also added goals to put the Sagehens up 17-13 heading into the fourth.
Chapman started out the final quarter with a goal to cut it down to a three-goal lead at 17-14, but Sam Sasaki added back-to-back goals and Jancic added a third to put the game away at 20-14 with three minutes to go. Chapman only added one more goal down the stretch while Peterson netted the final goal of the game to give the Sagehens the win.
Up Next: The Sagehens will next head to Whittier on Wednesday, October 12th at 7:00 p.m.
