CLAREMONT, Ca. – The Pomona-Pitzer women's water polo team earned a 23-9 victory over the Chapman Panthers on Saturday morning with Alexandra Szczerba leading the team with five goals while Abigail Wiesenthal, Ayva Magna, and Brienz Lang all turned in hat tricks.
Pomona-Pitzer 23, Chapman 9
The Sagehens dominated the first quarter, outscoring Chapman 8-1 with Kaylee Stigar and Alexandra Szczerba scoring the first three goals of the game. Chapman answered back with a goal of their own but goals from Wiesenthal, Szczerba, and Madison Lewis pushed the lead to 8-1. The two teams had a much closer second quarter with the Sagehens earning a slight 4-3 edge with Brienz Lang, Madison Lewis, and Lauren Smith earning the four goals to give the Sagehens a 12-4 lead at the halftime break.
Pomona-Pitzer outscored the Panthers 8-2 in the third quarter with Namhlun Jachung, Wiesenthal, Stigar, Gabby Lewis, Lang, and Magna all striking the back of the net. The Panthers and Sagehens scored three goals each in the fourth as the Sagehens capped off their 23-9 victory. Overall, the Sagehens outshot the Panthers 45-22 with a .511 shot percentage. Bella McGowan played all four quarters in goal, making six saves on the day.
Pomona-Pitzer 12, Concordia Irvine 7
The Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens picked up their second win of the day with a 12-7 victory over the Concordia Irvine Golden Eagles. The Sagehens won the opening sprint of the game and recorded the first goal of the contest 52 seconds in with a shot from Kaylee Stigar. The Golden Eagles evened things at 1-1 with a goal of their own but Brienz Lang put Pomona-Pitzer back on top near the halfway mark of the first quarter. Concordia Irvine responded once more in the first with 2:39 remaining in the quarter but Abigail Wiesenthal struck the back of the net for her first goal of the game with 1:31 remaining to put the Sagehens up 3-2.
The Golden Eagles outscored the Sagehens 2-1 in the second quarter with Wiesenthal scoring the Sagehens only goal of the quarter, sending the game to halftime tied 4-4. Out of the halftime break, Pomona-Pitzer dominated the third quarter with five unanswered goals with Lulu Gaither, Alexandra Szczerba, Lauren Smith, and Kaylee Stigar all scoring for the Sagehens. With the 9-3 lead in hand, the Sagehens continued to fight off the Golden Eagles in the fourth quarter. Concordia Irvine struck first in the quarter, but the Szczerba responded with a goal of her own. Wiesenthal earned the second Sagehen goal of the fourth, but the Golden Eagles came right back with another goal with 5:19 remaining. Both teams struck the back of the net once more with Brienz Lang recording the final goal for Pomona-Pitzer, capping off the team's 12-7 victory.
