Top-ranked opponents Whittier, Stanford sweep men's water polo
ORANGE, Calif. – In its toughest doubleheader of the season, the Chapman University men's water polo was swept by nationally-ranked opponents Whittier College and Stanford University at the Allred Olympic Pool. Saturday's doubleheader sweep spoiled the Panthers' chances at a winning season and a top-seed in the SCIAC Postseason Tournament.
Game 1: Whittier 13, Chapman 11
Chapman (8-7 overall, 4-3 SCIAC) was facing a must-win against Division III's top-ranked Whittier if the Panthers had hopes of going into the SCIAC Championships as a No. 1 or 2 seed. However, Chapman was forced to play catchup throughout the second half as the Poets earned the key victory.
With the match tied 6-6 at halftime, Whittier (16-2 overall, 6-1 SCIAC) built a two-goal advantage in the third quarter and was able to keep No. 6-ranked Chapman at a distance. The Panthers came back to tie it at 10 on senior driver James Vigeant's third goal of the game with 5:02 remaining in the fourth quarter, but Whittier came right back with two goals and never looked back.
Sophomore utility Willis Allen scored with 2:26 left to cut the deficit to one and the Panthers got the ball back with an opportunity to tie, but couldn't get a shot off. Allen finished with a pair of goals along with junior utility Drew Moyer. Senior driver Jack Cutler added three assists and three steals for Chapman.
Boxscore: http://chapman.prestosports.com/sports/mwaterpolo/2013-14/files/WC-CU.pdf
Game 2: Stanford 24, Chapman 7
Following a close match with one of the top teams in the conference, the Panthers were confronted with one of the top Division I programs in the nation, taking on No. 4 Stanford University. The Pac-12 program proved too much to handle, defeating Chapman by a final score of 24-7.
The 24 goals scored by Stanford (16-4) marked the most scored on a Chapman defense since 2011, when UC Santa Barbara put up 32 on the Panthers. With their fourth consecutive loss, the Panthers' overall season record drops to 7-9 with one regular season match remaining.
The loss put a damper on Senior Day, but senior UTL Brett Carter managed to score a game-high four goals in the lopsided affair. Meanwhile, 11 of the 13 Stanford players that saw pool time scored on sophomore GK Stephen Neil.
The Panthers will close out their regular season schedule with an 11 a.m. matchup at Claremont on Saturday before returning home to host the SCIAC Postseason Tournament, Nov. 22-24.
Boxscore: http://chapmanathletics.com/sports/mwaterpolo/2013-14/files/Chapman_vs._Stanford.pdf
by Doug Aiken
Sports Information Director
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