Panthers Unleashed: A dynamic scoring duo
A dynamic duo has taken shape. If only for a year, this duo will be a fun one to watch as the men's water polo team progresses through the second half of the season.
Senior Jeff O'Brien has always been a scorer. The Panthers' center entered the season ranked seventh all-time in goals scored and has since moved up to sixth. No surprise here, he's still scoring. However, newcomer Kevin Dayan is actually scoring more – just by a goal.
Dayan has 27 goals in the Panthers first 12 games this year and O'Brien has 26. Both members of the Panthers' two-headed scoring monster are averaging over two goals per game and rank second and third, respectively, in the SCIAC.
To put some historical perspective on it, there has only been one season since 1999 that the Panthers have had two players average two goals per game. In 2012, Brett Carter scored 70 times in 29 games played while Mark Alvarado was right on the money with 60 goals in 30 games.
Dayan and O'Brien are on pace to become that second duo but still have 15 regular season games to get there. With the race for the scoring leader as tight as it can be, these two must have a little friendly competition going. When asked if there was one, the pair responds with a simultaneous and emphatic, "No?"
"The end goal is to win," added O'Brien. "Whoever scores, it doesn't matter to me. It could be anyone on the team as long as we get wins."
"Not at all," Dayan chimed in. "Last game, I told Jeff he was going to score five goals and I'm going to get three. He said, 'You're going to get less goals than me?' I told him he was going to get five."
As the team has gelled early in the season, the pair of scorers seem to have found their balance and are the perfect complement to one another. O'Brien, a center, sucks the defense toward the middle of the pool with his scoring ability. Dayan, proclaimed by O'Brien and head coach Eric Ploessel as one the best outside shooters on the team, brings the defense back out to take away any clean looks he gets at the goal.
"Now, teams have to make a decision," explained Ploessel. "Are you going to drop off Kevin, who is going to score up top with an easy shot? Or are you going to leave Jeff inside? We really have had that the last few years to open Jeff up a little bit more."
Neither Dayan nor O'Brien scored in the Panthers first game. Dayan netted his first hat trick in the next game while O'Brien remained scoreless. Dayan has scored at least once in every game since then, scoring as much as four times against Fresno Pacific and Pomona-Pitzer.
O'Brien went off for five goals against Wagner and five more against La Verne. He's scored 17 times in the last five games. As a duo, the pair of combined for seven goals on three different occasions, including Saturday's win over Redlands. Together, they have totaled 10 games with three or more goals with each achieving the hat trick five times. They have accounted for exactly 50 percent of the team's scoring thus far.
If two weren't enough to stop, junior Bennett Royce is on pace to have his best scoring year by far. As a freshman, he scored 20 goals. He's already at 16. Junior Brady Hoskins has scored 12 goals in 11 games.
Beyond the scoring, Dayan leads the Panthers with 26 steals. O'Brien has astronomical 58 earned ejections (that's nearly five per game). Both have double digits steals, earned ejections and assists.
With more scoring, the Panthers has put together a few more early-season wins than in year's past. Chapman had six wins in all of 2016 and is already at four wins. The early season gauntlet of Division I and II teams has been lessened with the implementation of a 14-game SCIAC schedule (up from eight). More is riding on that SCIAC schedule this year, as another new implementation is only the top-4 teams making the SCIAC Tournament instead of the entire conference as in year's past.
The Panthers are 2-1 so far in the SCIAC and reached as high as No. 2 in the Division III national rankings after a big win over Johns Hopkins. They currently sit at No. 4 behind a three-way tie for first.
O'Brien and Dayan have combined for 17 goals in three SCIAC games and will hope to see the scoring machine started back up on Saturday when the Panthers host Cal Lutheran in Allred Pool at 11 a.m.
By Steven Olveda
Sports Information Director
Become a fan of Chapman Athletics on Facebook
Follow Chapman Athletics on Twitter @ChapmanSports
Post your #PantherPic to Instagram @ChapmanSports
#Chaptown