SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Pomona-Pitzer men's water polo defeated Bucknell, 15-14, and Saint Mary's, 14-13, Saturday to open the Julian Fraser Memorial.
Season Impact: The wins put the Sagehens at 14-10 on the season, including 5-0 in SCIAC play.
Sagehens 15, Bucknell 14
Trailing 7-5 with 3:33 left in the second period, Pomona-Pitzer scored three straight to take a 8-7 advantage at halftime.
Chase Barman,
Zach Whitfield and
Jaden Winters each found the back of the net, with Winters' goal coming from the five-meter spot.
Bucknell came back to take a 10-9 lead midway through the third.
Michael Soybel scored back-to-back goals in the period as the Sagehens maintained a 12-11 advantage heading into the fourth.
Flanders scored with 6:28 left to give Pomona-Pitzer a 14-12 advantage. Bucknell then scored the next two to tie things up at 14-14 with 2:31 remaining. On the following possession,
Alex Minton found the back of the net, putting the Sagehens back up 15-14. Pomona-Pitzer's defense held strong in the final minutes, as the team held on for the 15-14 win.
Sagehens 14, Saint Mary's 13 (Sudden Death)
Pomona-Pitzer clawed its way back from a 8-4 third period deficit, scoring two before the end of the period by way of
Jake Lee and
Miles Chiang. Whitfield,
Max Distaso and
Indigo Lee each scored midway through the fourth to tie things up at 9-9. Flanders scored with 2:50 left, but the Gaels answered with 2:07 to go, eventually forcing overtime with the game tied at 11-11.
Saint Mary's scored the only two goals in the first overtime period, taking a 13-11 lead. But the Sagehens responded in the second overtime, with Soybel and Flanders each scoring in the frame. Flanders' goal with 49 seconds left ultimately forced a golden goal, third overtime period.
In sudden death,
Indigo Lee scored the game winner with 1:42 to go, giving Pomona-Pitzer the 14-13 victory.
Up Next: The Sagehens will close out the Julian Fraser Memorial against UC Merced tomorrow, Sunday, Oct. 25, at 10:40 a.m. PT.
