THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — In a battle between two of the top-three teams in the country, it was California Lutheran University men's water polo that came out on top, taking down the Whittier College Poets by a final score of 11-9 on Wednesday afternoon.
No. 2 Cal Lutheran hosted the heavy-hitting bout, which saw many lead changes, big defensive plays and fireworks from the offenses.
The Kingsmen won and remained the No. 2 team in the SCIAC, improving to 7-1 and 15-3 overall. With the loss, the No. 3 Poets dropped to 5-2 and 9-11.
Andre Rives got the win in the cage, turning back shot after shot. He totaled 15 saves and earned a big win for his team.
The Kingsmen opened the scoring gates, scoring two goals in the first 3:10, and took the early lead. Parker Jory got the Purple and Gold on the board and Wyatt Lowe added to the total. The script flipped the rest of the way of the quarter and score was knotted up 2-2 at the end of one.
The Poets kept that momentum going, made it four straight goals, and took a 4-2 lead early in the second quarter. Whittier continued to double-up Cal Lutheran in the second and took a 6-3 lead with 3:47 left in the half. The Kingsmen cut the deficit down to two as they trailed the Poets 7-5 at the half.
Cal Lutheran came out on fire in the second half and quickly tied up the game at 7-7. Jory converted on a five-meter and Lowe scored on a no-look shot. The Kingsmen completed the comeback and took the lead as Cole Weiderman scored with three minutes left in the third. Cal Lutheran added one more took a 9-7 lead to the fourth.
Whittier got the scoring going first in the fourth, cutting the lead to one, followed by Brandt as he connected to push the lead back to two. Justin Krause kept the scoring going for the Purple and Gold, putting his team up 11-8 with 3:10 remaining. The Kingsmen held off the Poets the rest of the way, winning 11-9.
Jory led the way with three goals and four assists, while Wyatt Lowe, Ben Brown and David Brandt each added two. Justin Krause was big on defense, with a team-high five steals. Lowe, Weiderman and Stephen Blaauw put the Kingsmen in good offensive positions with three drawn ejections each.
The Kingsmen hit the road for their next two contests. On Saturday, Cal Lutheran is at Redlands with game time set for 11 a.m.
Box score: No. 2 CLU 11, No. 3 WC 9
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Release by Ryan Jorgenson, Sports Information Director
