CLAREMONT, CA – The Pomona-Pitzer men's water polo team secured an 18-13 win in the SCIAC Tournament semifinals against Whittier College Thursday night. The Sagehens will now face CMS on Saturday at home for the SCIAC Tournament championship.
The Sagehens were led by Jake Lee and Indigo Lee, who each scored five goals throughout the game. Jaden Winters earned a four-goal haul while Zach Whitfield also had a multigoal game and scored two goals. Nico Perna and Max Distaso each netted one in the win.
Pomona-Pitzer started strong against Whittier with 11 first half goals, scoring six in the first and five in the second quarter. The Poets struck first, but I. Lee swiftly responded by netting two back-to-back goals, one on a powerplay with 6:40 and one during even strength with 5:11 left on the clock. J. Lee followed suit and scored two goals with 4:29 and 3:27 left on the clock. In maintaining the Sagehen energy, Winters secured a penalty goal with 2:46 left on the clock. J. Lee continued the momentum and added another goal to the tally with 2:04 left on the clock. Whittier breached the Pomona-Pitzer defenses in an effort to catch up, but the Sagehens still concluded the first period ahead 6-5.
Each team managed to break through the other's defenses in the second period. However, the Sagehens maintained their lead as the opposing offense struck their defenses. Distaso and I. Lee each netted a goal on a powerplay with 7:06 and 5:30 left on the clock, respectively. Whitfield followed and found the back of the net with 4:50 left on the clock to bring Pomona-Pitzer ahead 9-6. The scoring traded off between each side. However, two goals from J. Lee and Whitfield continued the Sagehen lead. Pomona-Pitzer maintained their lead over the Poets as they entered halftime 11-10.
The Sagehens continued to play strong in the second half and secured seven more goals in the third and fourth quarters. Winters started the scoring in the second half by netting a goal with 2:57 left on the clock. J. Lee and Winters continued the momentum by securing a goal with 2:32 and 0:01 left on the clock. Pomona-Pitzer maintained their lead and finished the third quarter, still ahead of Whittier 14-10.
I. Lee started the scoring in the second quarter by scoring a goal with 7:19 left on the clock. Each team managed to score against the other as the competitive final quarter continued. Winters and I. Lee netted goals with 5:55 and 1:27 left on the clock, respectively, to bring the Sagehens ahead 17-13. Despite efforts from the Poets to catch up, a goal from Perna with 0:10 left on the clock further solidified the Pomona-Pitzer lead. The Sagehens concluded their first game of the SCIAC tournament with an 18-13 victory over Whittier.
