PROVIDENCE, RI. – The No. 25 Pomona-Pitzer Women's Water Polo team opened the Bruno Classic with a pair of wins by the scores of 10-7 over La Salle and a 13-12 overtime win against tournament host Brown.
Season Impact: With the wins, the Sagehens start the year at 3-1 overall.
Pomona-Pitzer 10, La Salle 7
The Sagehens were led by
Namlhun Jachung who was the only Sagehen to score multiple goals in the win with two while the supporting cast of
Abigail Wiesenthal,
Kaylee Stigar,
Madison Lewis,
Brienz Lang,
Mia Amberger,
Lauren Smith,
Lulu Gaither and
Ava Bennett had one each.
Zosia Amberger stopped 10 shots in goal for the Sagehens with a .588 save percentage.
The Sagehens and Explorers started out the game with one goal each in the first quarter. Lang put the Sagehens ahead early in the game before the Explorers answered with 4:39 left in the first with the teams tied at 1-1 heading into the second.
La Salle jumped ahead to open the second quarter but three-straight from Stigar, Gaither and Jachung put the Sagehens up 4-2 before La Salle netted their second goal of the quarter with the Sagehens up 4-3 at halftime.
A big third quarter lifted the Sagehens up in their game against the Explorers with a game-high four goals in the third. Wiesenthal, Jachung, Bennett, and Amberger got on the board for the Sagehens to give themselves an 8-5 cushion into the fourth.
La Salle closed the gap to 9-7 with 4:10 left in the game but the Sagehens closed out the game with a goal from Lewis to take game one of the Bruno Classic.
Pomona-Pitzer 13, Brown 12
The Sagehens were led by Stigar who had a huge night on offense with five goals in the win. Wiesenthal and
Madison Lewis also earned hat-tricks with three goals each while Jachung added two.
A tight game two for the Sagehens as they took on the co-host of the Bruno Classic against Ivy League foe Brown.
The Sagehens took advantage of their opportunities hitting on 6-11 for their powerplays while Brown was scoreless on theirs going 0-9. Both teams converted 1-2 from the five-meter penalty spot with the Sagehens shooting at .351 and Brown at .300.
The Sagehens got into a hole early as Brown opened the game with a 3-0 run and kept Pomona-Pitzer scoreless in the first to take a 3-0 lead. Stigar got the Sagehens on the board early in the second with two straight goals before Brown answered to keep the lead at 4-2.
Wiesenthal and Lewis got the Sagehens even just before halftime and after a scoreless first quarter, the Sagehens got back even with Brown at halftime 4-4.
The Sagehens started the third with a goal from Lewis to take their first lead of the game before Brown answered to tie the game up at 5-5. The two teams went back and forth throughout the entire third quarter and ended tied at 8-8 heading into the fourth.
Stigar opened the fourth with a goal to keep the Sagehens on top and after a quick answer from Brown, Lewis, and Jachung gave the Sagehens their biggest lead at two goals up 11-9 with 3:04 left in the fourth. The fourth quarter came down to the wire as Brown came back to tie the game at 11-11 and with both teams getting chances on offense, neither could find the back of the net as the two teams headed to overtime.
The Sagehens held the advantage after the first overtime period with the only goal coming from a shot in front of the cage by Wiesenthal to take a 12-11 lead into the second overtime period. Pomona-Pitzer took a two-goal lead after a huge goal from Stigar to go up 13-11 but Brown responded to bring the lead back down to one at 13-12 with 1:26 left to go. After letting Brown come back late in the fourth quarter, the Sagehens played exceptional defense down the stretch and even burned off a late exclusion to come away with a narrow victory to end day one of the Burno Classic.
Up Next: The Sagehens will continue the Bruno with contests against Indiana and Wagner at 8:00 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. ET.
