THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — The California Lutheran University Men's Water Polo team entered the pool on Tuesday looking to justify their newly announced ranking of #2 in the nation in Division III. They proved up to the task with a 17-13 win over the Chapman University Bulldogs.
The Kingsmen grabbed the opening goal with a quick counter attack that saw Stephen Blaauw get behind the defense and win the one on one battle with the keeper.
Chapman picked up the next three goals with strong shots from distance. Cal Lutheran's offense struggled to find the back of the net with two hard shots off the post before finding success on the counter attack again as goalie Andre Rivas sent a deep outlet pass over everyone for an easy break away score from Ben Brown.
The second quarter saw the two teams trading goals while the Kingsmen clawed back from a three goal deficit to tie the game at 7-7 with a David Brandt goal on yet another counter attack that got behind the defense. Ben Brown finished the half with the go ahead goal for an 8-7 lead.
The Bulldogs evened the game up at 8-8 to start the half and the teams carried that back and forth momentum to a 10-10 tie. From there the defense began a strong series of stops that allowed Cal Lutheran to pull ahead by three with a goal from Luke Matthies and two from Dillon Goldsmith. The Bulldogs were able to net one more before the quarter ended with the Kingsmen ahead 13-11.
A point blank shot from Chapman closed the gap to one at 13-12. Stephen Blaauw showed impressive focus handling a redirected pass and finding the back of the net with authority to give CLU a little space at 14-12.
Chapman's final goal came with more than 7 minutes left in play. After that, the regals were able to best the Chapman keeper three more times for a 17-13 final score. The final 7 plus minutes of defense was highlighted by a penalty shot save from Andre Rivas to go along with two other strong denials.
Up next for men's waterpolo is a trip to compete against the La Verne Leopards Saturday at 11:00am PST.
Box score: CLU 17, CU 13
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