Men's water polo advances to SCIAC semifinals

REDLANDS, Calif. - The Chapman University men's water polo team advanced to the SCIAC Championships semifinals with a 9-4 win over Pomona-Pitzer Colleges at Thompson Aquatics Center in Redlands on Friday. The No. 3-seeded Panthers advanced to face No. 2 seed Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on Saturday at 11:45 a.m.

The win was also Chapman's 16th of the season, setting a new program record.

The Panthers' defense was outstanding in the second half, shutting out the Sagehens over the final 19 minutes of the game and turning a 5-4 halftime lead into a 9-4 win. Junior goalie Stephen Neil made a career-high 19 saves, one shy of the Chapman single-game record to lead the Panthers.

Senior driver Chase Middlesworth's second goal of the game with 58 seconds remaining in the first half gave Chapman the lead for good at 4-3. Middlesworth finished tied with a team-high three goals. Meanwhile, senior driver Mark Alvarado scored two of his three goals in the third period as Chapman pulled away for the win.

The Panthers are appearing in the SCIAC Tournament semifinals for the first time in school history. Chapman (16-9) will need two more wins to clinch the conference championship and automatic berth into the NCAA playoffs.

by Doug Aiken
Sports Information Director

Boxscore: http://goredlands.com/sports/mwaterpolo/2014-15/files/CU-PP.pdf

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