SCIAC Men's Water Polo Championship - Day 1 Recap
ORANGE, Calif. - Day 1 of the SCIAC Men's Water Polo Championships may not have had any upsets, but it provided plenty of drama as the underdogs gave the favorites a run for their money on Friday at the Allred Olympic Pool at Chapman University.
Each of the top four seeds advanced to Saturday's semifinals, but it was the nightcap, a sudden-death overtime thriller that provided the match of the day as Pomona-Pitzer scored the equalizer with 0.2 seconds left in OT and then won it in the 'golden goal' period to keep its title hopes alive.
Game Recaps
| Game 1 (play-in): | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final |
| #9 Caltech | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 |
| #8 Occidental | 5 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 13 |
Paul Bergevin sparked a 5-0 Tigers run to open the match and teammate Jack Stabenfeldt added a game-high four goals as Oxy advances to play No. 1 Whittier.
| Game 2: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final |
| #7 La Verne |
4 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 14 |
| #2 Claremont |
5 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 16 |
Stags' leading scorer John Holland scored five goals, including three in the fourth quarter, as Claremont withstood a late rally by the Leopards to advance to the semifinals.
| Game 3: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final |
| #6 Cal Lutheran |
1 | 2 |
2 | 1 | 6 |
| #3 Redlands |
3 |
2 |
1 | 2 | 8 |
The Bulldogs held on in a tight defensive battle to beat the Kingsmen. Redlands' top scorer Clint Freeman was responsible for half of Redlands' goals, scoring four times as the Bulldogs advance to the semifinals where they will take on Claremont-M-S.
| Game 4: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final |
| #8 Occidental |
2 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 11 |
| #1 Whittier | 4 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 15 |
Top-seeded Whitter used a big third quarter to propel itself into the semifinals on Saturday. Goran Mataic and Wedge Molthen each scored three goals for the Poets who scored six straight at one point in the match.
| Game 5: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Final |
| #5 Chapman | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 10 |
| #4 Pomona-Pitzer |
3 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 11 |
Pomona-Pitzer's Ryan Higgins scored the game-winner with 56 second left in the 'golden goal' overtime period after teammate Jarrod Gaut kept the Sagehens alive on a goal with 0.2 seconds remaining in the second OT period. Pomona will face Whittier in the semifinals on Saturday.
SCIAC Men's Water Polo Championship website: http://chapmanathletics.com/sports/mwaterpolo/tournament/index