CLAREMONT, Calif. — The No. 2 California Lutheran University men's water polo team traveled to No. 1 Pomona-Pitzer on Wednesday afternoon for a battle between the top two teams in the country. After trailing just 6-5 at halftime, the Kingsmen fell 14-7 to the Sagehens.
It was the first conference loss of the season for the Purple and Gold. They are now 6-1 in SCIAC and 13-3 overall.
Pomona-Pitzer opened the game with two goals, and Cal Lutheran fired back, to tie the score at 2 with 3:32 left in the first quarter. The No. 1 team in the nation, the Sagehens, barely had the edge over the No. 2 Kingsmen 4-3 at the end of one.
The game continued to be close and every time the Sagehens created space the Kingsmen were right there with an answer. With 3:48 left in the half, the score was knotted at 5. Cal Lutheran goalkeeper Jonathan Salandi made incredible saves, making 14 in all. It was a close first half as the Sagehens had a 6-5 lead at the break.
Pomona-Pitzer started the second half with six straight goals and took control of the game. The Sagehens used the breathing room and took the contest between the two best teams.
Ben Brown and Luke Matthies both scored two goals and Tommy Riffle, Justin Krause and Cormac Flanders each had one. Brown tallied two assists, Stephen Blaauw had five steals and Taylor Garcia recorded three drawn ejections. Salandi had three steals to go along with his saves.
The Kingsmen continue the season on Friday with a non-conference game. Cal Lutheran welcome Westcliff for a game at 4 p.m.
Box score: PP 14, CLU 7
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Release by Ryan Jorgenson, Sports Information Director
