Early deficit sinks Chapman in home debut against Claremont

ORANGE, Calif. –  With nearly half the season over, the Chapman University men's water polo team played its home-opener on Wednesday afternoon, but lost 13-8 to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps at the Allred Aquatics Center. Chapman has a few days off before heading to the Gary Troyer Tournament hosted by CMS over the weekend.

Within the first four minutes of the match, Chapman (3-12) found itself in a 3-0 hole and could never recover. Freshman utility Willis Allen narrowed CMS's lead to 3-1 with a goal at the 3:04 mark of the first quarter, but Chapman could not get any closer. Allen had two goals on the afternoon for Chapman which tied a game-high with Chapman sophomore driver Mark Alvarado and four CMS players.

Over the next two quarters, CMS (2-12) steadily built its lead to as many as seven scores after a goal by freshman driver Alec Linz with 2:58 left in the third quarter gave CMS a 10-3 lead. Chapman went on a 3-0 run of its own to inch within four scores at 10-6 after back-to-back goals by Alvarado, the latter coming with 4:20 remaining in the game.

To put the game out of reach, CMS came back with goals by senior utility Brian Baier and junior driver John Holland to take a 12-6 lead and essentially end any hope of a Chapman comeback.

Senior GK Taylor Roszkos had 11 blocks for Chapman in net while junior utility Brett Carter added a goal and a team-high three assists. Baier, senior driver Huston Middlesworth, senior utility Greg Mann and junior 2M Maarten Lefor each had two goals for CMS in the win.

Chapman's next home game is on Wednesday, Oct. 17 at 4 p.m. as the team hosts La Verne at the Allred Aquatics Center.

Boxscore: http://static.psbin.com/x/2/uq5j33uctdaj8i/cms-cu.pdf

by Chris Watts
Sports Information Assistant

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