THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – The final day of September sent three Cal Lutheran teams on the road to compete against Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) opponents. The Kingsmen water polo team started the day at Chapman, dropping a 13-9 decision before the Regals volleyball squad took down Caltech 3-0 and the Kingsmen football team capped off the day at La Verne where the Kingsmen suffered a tough 28-27 loss.
Men's Water Polo (CU 13, CLU 9)
Cal Lutheran (4-7, 2-2 SCIAC) jumped out to a 5-3 advantage, but the Panthers got the upper hand in the end. The Kingsmen used their speed with George French, Andre Laserna and George Lundgren all winning a sprint today, but the offense came up short. Mats Albins and Zach Zamecki scored two goals apiece and Chris Gardhouse added one as all three handed out two assists. CLU combined for eight drawn ejections with a pair from Taggart Diehl. Chapman outshot Cal Lutheran 34-27, but one of the biggest differences today was on power plays where the Panthers converted 5-for-8 whereas the Kingsmen added goals on just 3-for-10 chances. Goalkeeper Nick Loomis recorded nine saves in the loss.
Regals Volleyball (CLU 3, CIT 0)
Cal Lutheran (8-8, 4-3 SCIAC) evened its overall record with a convincing 3-0 (25-9, 25-10, 25-18) victory over Caltech inside the Braun Gymnasium today. CLU jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead and never looked back. Amanda Roberts was hot, going 4-for-4 early on and finished with nine kills on 10 swings without a miscue. Overall, 17 of the 18 Regals stepped on the court and 11 different players recorded at least one kill. Hannah Cantrell put down seven while Sarah Hein recorded five on six attacks without an error to hit .833. Jennifer Kent recorded 17 assists and Molly Holloway tallied two of the five service aces. Defensively, Emma Cisneros-Luebke totaled 19 digs while Cantrell, Holloway (2) and Kent all had solo blocks.
Football (LV 28, CLU 27)
Cal Lutheran (2-1, 0-1 SCIAC) got out to a 7-0 lead and battled to the final buzzer, but squandered a lead late during a tough 28-27 loss to La Verne in the SCIAC opener. With 1:48 to play in the first frame, Adam Friederichsen connected with Josh Mooney for an eight-yard touchdown reception and the play was capped off by a Dominick Grimm point after. LV knotted things at 7-7, but two minutes later in the second quarter, Friederichsen and Wendell O'Brien teamed up for a 25-yard TD with an extra point pushing the team tally to 14-7. Late in the half, Aaron Lacombe hauled in a 50-yard touchdown reception and while the PAT was not good, the lead was pushed to 20-7. The Leopards put up another score with1:27 to go in the first half, leaving the scoreboard reading 20-14 going into the locker rooms.
After the intermission, O'Brien notched his second touchdown of the game, a 14-yard reception from Friederichsen, again opening the gap to two possessions at 27-14, though ultimately it was the last offense of the day for the Kingsmen. Early in the fourth, LV was within striking distance, but senior defensive back Lucas Quinn picked off the Leopards quarterback for his first interception of the season. Unfortunately, on the ensuing possession, La Verne got a pick-six, which closed the gap to 27-21 still in favor of the Violet and Gold, but another CLU turnover placed the ball back in the hands of the Leos who punched it in to take a 28-27 advantage with 10:46 remaining in regulation. Both defenses stepped up as neither side found the end zone again.
Cal Lutheran held an advantage in total yards with 406 while La Verne tallied just 243. The LV rushing game out did CLU 164-29, but the passing game belonged to the Kingsmen with 377 to 79 for the Leos.
Friederichsen finished 31-for-46 for 377 yards, four touchdowns and one interception. His top target was Lacombe who reeled in eight catches for 153 yards including the 50-yard completion for a touchdown. Mooney, O'Brien, Chris Beeson and Richard Caceres each collected five receptions. Beeson added 16 of the 27 rushing attempts and collected 70 yards with his longest scamper at 18 yards. Caceres also returned punts for 49 total yards, including a 22-yard return to put CLU in a position to strike late in the fourth. Beeson returned kicks, with one marked at 53-yards, for 117 overall.
Defensively, Ty Lozano led the way with 11 total tackles that included nine solo stops. Acquarey Eddington was next with eight tackles, six solo, and had one of two tackles for a loss, as did Devonte Dixon.
On campus tonight, both the men's and women's soccer teams played under the lights at William Rolland Stadium. The men's water polo team heads to the Gary Troyer Tournament at Pomona-Pitzer on Oct. 6-7. Women's volleyball returns home on Tuesday, Oct. 3 when the Regals host Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in an always-anticipated match with the Athenas at 7:00 p.m. inside the Gilbert Arena. Football is back on the gridiron next Saturday, Oct. 7 at Pomona-Pitzer with kickoff set for 7:00 p.m.
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Release by Tracy L. Olson, Sports Information Director
