Offense comes through in the fourth; Panthers beat No. 9 Whittier

ORANGE, Calif. – Four fourth-quarter goals by the Chapman University men's water polo team were just enough for the Panthers to defeat visiting Whittier College 9-8 at the Allred Olympic Pool on Saturday evening. With the scored tied 5-5 after three quarters, No. 6 Chapman (12-11) took the lead for good with three straight goals then held on for the victory.

It was the first meeting between the Division III top-10 rivals since the Panthers' 13-12 sudden-death overtime win in the WWPA Championships last November. This one didn't require overtime, but Chapman once again one-upped the No. 9-ranked Poets thanks to two goals apiece from seniors David Carson and Pierre Masson and sophomore 2-meter Brett Carter.

The Panthers never trailed in the game jumping out to a 2-0 lead after one quarter on scores from Masson and freshman driver Chase Middlesworth.

Chapman led 5-3 at halftime, but Whittier clawed back with a pair of goals in the third quarter while shutting the Panthers' offense out. Wes Paulson scored his second of two goals in the game in the quarter to help the Poets pull even.

Then with the score tied, the Panthers opened up the final frame with three goals in a span of 1 minute, 49 seconds to build an 8-5 lead with 3:32 to play. Masson scored his second goal with 1:12 left on the clock to make it 9-7 Panthers and Whittier could not catch up.

Junior goalie Taylor Roszkos made eight saves and added four steals for the Panthers which improved to 3-2 at home and jump back above the .500 mark overall at 12-11.

Chapman will host Vanguard University on Friday at 5 p.m. and Santa Clara on Sunday at 12 p.m. as the Panthers close out the regular season at home.

by Doug Aiken
Sports Information Director

Boxscore: http://www.chapmanathletics.com/sports/mwaterpolo/2011-12/files/WC-CU.pdf

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