THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - Opening weekend for the Cal Lutheran men's water polo team pitted the Kingsmen against a pair of upper Division opponents in UC San Diego and the Air Force Academy at the 2014 Triton Invitational. CLU fell 16-6 to host UCSD and dropped a second game, 12-8, to AFA in the afternoon.
Though the scores did not swing in favor of the Violet and Gold, six different players found the back of the net against Division II No. 10 UCSD in the first game of the weekend. The six-pack to score was Zack Card, Jake Gallagher, Zach Graper, Camron Hauer, Nathan Ortega and Asante Sefa-Boakye. Additionally, Mike Potter dished out a pair of assists and both Z. Graper and Mickey Hamel recorded one apiece as well.
Defensively, nine different Kingsmen earned a steal with goalie Jesse Owen leading the way with three. He also tallied 10 saves for CLU in the opener. In the field, freshman Rian Atherton and sophomore Cameron Knudsen each notched a field block.
Making his Cal Lutheran debut against UCSD were Atherton, Hamel, Jack Acampora, Justin English, George French and Ryan Moguel. To go along with his field block, Atherton also drew an ejection while Acampora and English each nabbed a steal.
The afternoon game was tied 5-5 after the first period and again the teams were knotted at halftime, 6-6. It was the third period that was the difference as CLU was unable to produce any offense and AFA scored twice. In the final frame the Division I Air Force Academy added four goals to put the game out of reach for the Kingsmen who finished with just two more.
Z. Graper and Shea Craig scored a pair apiece with Hauer, Moguel (the first of his career), AJ Franklin and Tyler Graper each netting a goal. Owen supplied a trio of assists, to go along with 14 saves, and the other assists came from Card and Zach Zamecki in his first game for the Kingsmen. Card and Hauer also each drew a pair of ejections.
Overall, it was as solid opening day for the Violet and Gold despite the results in the win-loss column.
Cal Lutheran (0-2) returns to the pool on Friday, Sept. 19 when the Kingsmen travel to the Cal Baptist Tournament where they will face off with Fresno Pacific and host Cal Baptist at 3:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., respectively, in more non-conference action.
Box Score: AFA 12, CLU 8
Box Score: UCSD 16, CLU 6
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