WHITTIER, Calif. - An overtime thriller opened the weekend for the Cal Lutheran men's water polo team as the Kingsmen defeated Division I Iona 11-10, following up with an 18-12 victory against Division I Washington & Jefferson tonight at the Gary Troyer Memorial Tournament.
Tough opposition throughout the preseason has taught and challenged the Kingsmen. Head coach Craig Rond felt that his squad was well prepared for the teams they faced today.
"We worked extremely hard this week in preparation for some very good competition," he went on, "More than any other time this year we really seemed to work well within a system, which went a long way towards our success today."
It was important for CLU to open with a strong showing after being blanked by powerhouse Division I No. 6 UC Santa Barbara and playing a tough NAIA No. 11 Concordia-Irvine on back-to-back days last week.
"It showed that we can bounce back from a tough last weekend of games," AJ Franklin said, "Most importantly I think the wins signified the team chemistry really coming together and starting to click."
To start the day, CLU and Iona were basically exchanging goal for goal over the first two periods as the teams were knotted at 5-5 going into the intermission. After the break the Gaels scored three unanswered goals to take an 8-5 lead going into the final quarter.
The Cal Lutheran offense came alive and outscored Iona 5-2 in the fourth frame, with Max Zappas netting the final regulation goal, to force overtime.
During the first OT Zach Graper stepped up and registered the winning goal as the Kingsmen went on to hold the Gaels scoreless over the final two overtime periods.
Four different Kingsmen, Zappas, Shea Craig, Taylor McMaster and David Sparks scored two goals apiece in the first game. Franklin and Mike Arteaga each recorded four assists in the win while Arteaga added a goal and Franklin and Graper each drew a pair of ejections.
Similarly to the other wins this season, CLU was able to execute what they practiced.
"It was a great game and they are a good team, but we stuck to the game plan and it worked," Arteaga said between games.
Defensively, Graper recorded the only field block of the game against Iona and McMaster led the Kingsmen with four steals, one more than Zappas who finished with a trio. Jesse Owen played the whole game in front of the cage, turning away a dozen shots for the first time of the day, repeating the feat in the second game as he played all 10 periods today.
In the second game CLU took a 5-3 lead after the first eight minutes and never looked back in the six-goal victory.
Graper led the offense with four goals, including a five-meter shot, and drew two ejections while also handing out an assist. Franklin added three assists and a trio of goals against the Colonials. Arteaga tacked on four more assists in the second game of the day to finish with eight, chipping in with a pair of goals as well. Craig was the only other CLU player with more than one goal against GW, though 11 different players found the back of the net, including the first goal of Ben Russell's collegiate career. Hauer also converted a five-meter shot for the Violet and Gold and drew a team-high three ejections.
McMaster notched a team-leading five steals to pace the defense for the second time of the day. CLU got three field blocks against George Washington with Arteaga, Franklin and Cameron Knudsen each recording one.
Working as a collective unit today paid dividends.
"All the guys were working hard to press, which fed into a great looking counter offense where we had multiple guys pushing to the two-meter line and scoring as well as assisting for goals," Franklin continued, "Defensively we were strong as well with everyone being committed to our system of defense and our set-d guys played a critical role in the success of our defense.".
As the season wears on the Kingsmen are using this final weekend of preseason games to gel together even more, which will be crucial once league play begins.
"Overall our ability to trust one another and help each other throughout the game is what led to the wins," Franklin concluded.
Cal Lutheran (6-10) will be back at the Lillian Slade Aquatics Center tomorrow for the second and final day of the 2013 Gary Troyer Memorial Tournament with games against Penn State-Brehrend and Washington & Jefferson at 10:20 a.m. and 3:40 p.m., respectively.
Box Score: CLU 11, Iona 10 - 2OT - box score not available at time of release
Box Score: CLU 18, GW 12 - box score not available at time of release
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