SAN DIEGO, Calif. - The Cal Lutheran men's water polo team got its season underway at the Triton Invitational on Saturday where the Kingsmen fell 14-8 at the hands of Air Force and 11-5 to UC Irvine.
AFA def. CLU 14-8
In the first game of the afternoon, Air Force jumped out to a quick 5-1 lead after the first quarter and extended its advantage to 9-2 at halftime. In the second half, however, it was a different story as the Kingsmen outscored the Falcons 6-5, but the damage had been done.
Mats Albins and Matt Fong led the way with two goals apiece for CLU while Chris Gardhouse led the team with four drawn ejections and four steals. Zack Card recorded a team-high two assists while adding two steals. In the cage, Nick Loomis came up with 10 saves. Hans Cole, Taggart Diehl, Ben Harvey, Seth Hightower, George Lundgren, Kevin Oetken, and Kevin Tumanyan all made their CLU debuts in the game.
UCI def. CLU 11-5
In a battle against the Anteaters, the Kingsmen fell behind 3-1 after the first period but battled UC Irvine to a 2-2 score in the second. Trailing 5-3 entering the third frame, the Anteaters pulled away with a 4-1 edge in the quarter. Albins led CLU once again with two goals while Hightower, Diehl and Card tallied one apiece. Gardhouse and Lundgren were strong defensively with three saves each. Loomis racked up 14 saves in the contest.
Cal Lutheran (0-2) will return to Samuelson Aquatics Center for its next matchup against UC San Diego on Thursday, Sept. 15 at 5:00 p.m.
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