ORANGE, Calif. — The Cal Lutheran men's water polo team came up short in a Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) match as the Kingsmen were defeated by the Chapman Panthers, 19-11, Wednesday afternoon at the Allred Aquatics Center.
The Kingsmen dropped below .500 and are now 8-9 on the year. The loss sent them to 2-4 in the SCIAC. Chapman is now 6-14 overall and 2-3 in conference.
An early deficit was a key factor as Chapman scored on three of its first four shots. The Panthers had a shooting percentage of .559. The Kingsmen shot .355, but were only 2-for-7 on power play opportunities.
Ben Brown led the offense and recorded three goals for a hat trick. He was big offensively and also contributed three assists. He showed off an all-around game and recorded three steals.
Justin English and Kyle Crist were next with two goals each. Four more Kingsmen scored a goal as Stephen Blaauw, Matt Fong, Dillon Goldsmith and Wyatt Lowe added to the overall count.
Andre Rivas was second on the team with two assists. He was in goal for the entire game and made eight saves. The Kingsmen moved the ball well as five more athletes recorded an assist.
Chapman took an early lead and was up 2-0 after two minutes of play. The Panthers made it 3-0 with 4:17 left in the first quarter and the Kingsmen called a timeout. Chapman scored the first five points of the game before Crist got Cal Lutheran on the board. The first quarter ended with CU up 5-1.
The Panthers opened the second quarter with a goal before the Kingsmen struck for their second goal. Goldsmith found the back of the net to make it 7-2. Cal Lutheran converted on a power play for its third goal. Seth Hightower found English as he fired it past Chapman's goalie. The Panthers still held the lead 8-3. The Kingsmen cut the lead in half as Blaauw made it 8-4 with 32 seconds left in the half.
Brown got the scoring going immediately in the second half for the Kingsmen as he scored on Cal Lutheran's first possession. Chapman stopped the bleeding and went up 9-5 with 6:14 in the third. After two more goals from the Panthers, Lowe made it 11-6 as he found the back of the net. Brown then cut the lead back to four as he scored his second goal.
Brown recorded his hat trick and got the Kingsmen even closer. He floated the ball over the goalie and into the left side of the cage. George Lundgren recorded the assist with a long pass diagonally across the pool. The Panthers were there for an answer, again, and went back up 13-8. CU added another and were up 14-8 after three.
The Panthers didn't let up in the fourth. CLU showed some signs of life as Fong, English and Crist scored. Chapman was too much in the end and won the game 19-11.
The Kingsmen return home for their next match and host Cerritos College Friday at 4 p.m. in the Samuelson Aquatics Center.
Box Score: CU 19, CLU 11
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Release by Ryan Jorgenson, Sports Information Director
