NEW LONDON, Conn.— The Cal Lutheran men's water polo team got a signature win as the Kingsmen defeated Division I opponent, Iona Gaels, 11-10 in overtime on day two of the Conn. College Tournament. Dillon Goldsmith had the game winner in overtime.
Earlier in the day, CLU came up just short and lost to Gannon College 9-8. The two-day tournament was Saturday and Sunday and hosted by Conn. College.
"It was a good weekend of competition," said head coach Craig Rond. "We had three one-goal games which will help us learn to hold our composure and stay focused on immediate expectations and a systematic game plan under fatigue and pressure."
The Kingsmen had their hands full on Sunday as they took on Division II, Gannon, and then Iona. CLU is now 3-3 on the season. Iona dropped to 2-7 and Gannon is undefeated at 9-0.
It was a busy weekend for Cal Lutheran and they were playing in their fifth game in two days versus Iona.
Goldsmith led Cal Lutheran with a hat trick, including the game winner in overtime. Ben Brown, and Hans Cole and each added two goals while Justin English, Seth Hightower, Parker Jory and George Lundgren added one more apiece.
The Gaels came out firing early and took a 4-1 lead after the first quarter. Iona built it up to a four-point lead and were up 6-2 midway through the second. Cal Lutheran fought back and it was a two-point lead for Iona at halftime (7-5).
In the third quarter, the Kingsmen outscored the Gaels 2-1 and the lead was cut to one at 8-7. Both teams scored twice throughout the first part of the fourth quarter. With 1:12 left in regulation, Jory scored his only goal of the game to tie the score at 10. The goal from Jory forced overtime. Goldsmith put on the finishing touches as he won the game for the Kingsmen with a final score of 11-10.
Against the Gannon Golden Knights, Lundgren led the team with three goals, Goldsmith and Brown had two and Tanner Kaplan chipped in with one.
Brown and Stephen Blaauw kept the ball moving and both tallied two assists. Brown continued his all-around game with four steals and Lundgren had four as well. Hightower had three steals and Parker Jory had two. Four more Kingsmen recorded one.
Jory, Wyatt Lowe and Blaauw led the team with two drawn ejections apiece. Andre Rivas was in goal and made 12 saves. He also had one steal and one assist.
Gannon had the early lead and was up 2-1 after the first quarter. Both teams found the back of the net three times in the second quarter as the Kingsmen trailed by one at halftime. The Golden Knights shut out the Kingsmen in the third quarter, while outscoring them 2-0, and took a 7-4 lead into the fourth quarter. A ferocious rally came up just short in the fourth for CLU. The Kingsmen scored four times, but Gannon add two more goals and took the 9-8 win.
Next up for the Kingsmen is conference play. Cal Lutheran opens Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) play Wednesday against Caltech at 7 p.m. in Pasadena, Calif.
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Release by Ryan Jorgenson, Sports Information Director
