THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — In front of a full house at the Samuelson Aquatic Center, Cal Lutheran men's water polo took it to Occidental and grabbed the No. 2 spot in conference with a 15-12 win on Wednesday night. 

The Kingsmen improved to 7-3 in conference, dropping the Tigers to the same record. Cal Lutheran has defeated Occidental twice this year and own the tiebreaker with one game remianing. The Kingsmen are now 13-13 overall.

Interview with Dillon Goldsmith and Luke Matthies

The Kingsmen came out on fire and scored the first four goals of the game. Occidental weathered the storm, as Cal Lutheran took a 5-3 lead after one. The Tigers flipped the script in the second quarter, outscoring the Kingsmen 5-2, and had an 8-7 lead at the half. 

Cal Lutheran fired back to start the third. The Kingsmen scored the first goal and tied the game. The quarter went just under four minutes with the one goal. The Kingsmen scored their second goal, off a breakaway, as Dillon Goldsmith made it 9-8 with 4:10 remaining.  With 2:50 remaining in the quarter, Oxy had a five-meter attempt. Bo DuBois made the save and Cal Lutheran countered with a goal to make it 10-8. The teams exchanged goals the rest of the quarter and Cal Lutheran had a 12-10 lead after three. Cal Lutheran controlled the game the rest of the way.

Goldsmith continued to lead the offense and notched five goals. He added three drawn ejections and two assists, being a force for the Kingsmen. 

Luke Matthies was next with four goals and Ben Brown added three. Brown dished out a team-high four assists while he matched Matthies with two steals each.

DuBois recorded 10 saves and earned the win. Justin Boals made key plays on defense and matched Brown and Matthies with two steals.

The Kingsmen's regular season finale is on the road. Cal Lutheran is at Chapman on Saturday at 11 a.m. 

Box Score: CLU 15, OXY 12
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