First few minutes sink Panthers in 16-10 loss to Cal Baptist

ORANGE, Calif. - The Chapman University men's water polo team faced a four-goal deficit just three minutes into the opening quarter against No. 20 California Baptist University and could not recover, losing 16-10 on Saturday afternoon at the Allred Aquatics Center.

California Baptist (19-6) jumped out of the gates early with four goals, two by junior driver Aaron Steiger and two from sophomore utility Brent Troutman to take a 4-0 lead. The Panthers narrowed the lead to 4-2 with consecutive goals by sophomore utility Pierre Masson and senior 2M Austin McElvaney. Masson scored the second of his team-high three goals with 14 seconds remaining in the first quarter to bring Chapman within two scores at 5-3.

The Lancers built their lead to 8-3 in the second quarter with a goal by sophomore utility Norbert Karoly and two more from Stegier who scored six times on the afternoon. Brent Troutman added four goals.

In the third quarter, Chapman (12-12) narrowed the score to 10-7 on a goal by junior utility Matt Siordia only to see the deficit balloon up to eight just minutes later. After Siordia's goal, Cal. Baptist scored five-straight goals to close out the quarter, building their lead to 15-7.

Freshmen Steven Wilcox and Kyle Hay each tallied goals for Chapman, their third and fourth goal of the season, respectively.