Comeback foiled as water polo falls to Cal Lu in final minute

ORANGE, Calif. – In a battle of No. 4 vs. No. 5 in the NCAA Division III rankings, the Chapman University women's water polo team dropped a heartbreaker to visiting Cal Lutheran University 9-8 in a SCIAC game at the Allred Pool on Saturday. The fourth-ranked Regals held serve thanks to a game-winning goal with 38 seconds remaining in the contest.

The loss spoiled a valiant fourth-quarter comeback by Chapman (8-16 overall, 1-2 SCIAC), which trailed 8-4 with 3:07 left in the fourth quarter. The Panthers rallied for four goals over a span of 1:59 to even the score at 8-8 on a goal by junior utility Riley Ford with 49 seconds left.

But on its next possession Cal Lutheran (6-17 overall, 2-1 SCIAC) got a goal from Amanda Jones – her third of the game – which snapped the tie and proved to be the game-winner.

The Regals' defense held Chapman to just three goals in the first three quarters of play, leading 6-3 at halftime. Cal Lutheran goalie Gina Merry made some big stops as the Panthers took 29 shots in the game.

Sophomore driver Miranda Estrella scored a pair of goals in the first quarter to even the score at 2-2 and keep Chapman close after one period. Estrella scored again during the Panthers' fourth-quarter rally to give her a team-high three goals in the game. She added three assists and four steals for Chapman.

The Panthers will travel to La Verne and Redlands next week before returning home to host Occidental College on April 9 at 5 p.m.

by Doug Aiken
Sports Information Director

Boxscore: http://chapmanathletics.com/sports/wwaterpolo/2013-14/files/CLU-CU.pdf

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