WHITTIER, Calif. — Cal Lutheran women's water polo stormed back with four goals in the fourth quarter to defeat Whittier 9-8 and clinch a berth in the SCIAC Tournament on Saturday afternoon.
The Regals were down 7-5 with 7:11 minutes remaining in the game. Lauren Lohmeier and Bethany Metcalfe scored back-to-back goals to tie the game. The Regals made it four straight as Katie Knight added back-to-back goals. The Regals clinched a berth in the tournament for the 16th consecutive year. They have been to the SCIAC Tournament every year since its inception in 2007.
Izzy De Souza was in goal and combined with the defense to get their squad a big win. She recorded 14 saves and seven different Regals tallied a steal.
Knight led the way with four goals and Jacsen Donohue, Kaitlin Gardhouse, Kemi Dijkstra, Metcalfe, and Lohmeier added one each. Gardhouse dished out three assists and Tori Portillo had two more.
The game went back-and-forth early on with four ties and two lead changes through three-and-a-half quarters. The first two-goal difference came with 2:23 left in the third as the Poets went up 6-4. Whittier had their two-goal lead in the fourth before Cal Lutheran made their move. The defense held on in the end as the Regals improved to 12-13 overall and 8-3 in SCIAC play.
The Regals have their regular season finale to cap off the year. Cal Lutheran hosts Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on Wednesday at 4 p.m.
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