THOUSAND OAKS, Calif — It was an overtime thriller as No. 6 Cal Lutheran men's water polo fought back from being down and gave No. 1 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps a scare, falling 13-12 on Wednesday afternoon.
The Kingsmen were down 8-4 to start the fourth quarter and 12-9 in the second overtime. That did not deter Cal Lutheran as they came back each time, showing they are one of the top teams in the nation.
"Great game by the team this afternoon," said head coach
John Jacobson. "CMS is one of the top-ranked teams in the nation, and our boys hung tough. We had a couple of lapses on offense that led to counter goals, overall our team defense was great. If we can be a bit more consistent our squad is a tough team to beat."
Luke Matthies scored a game-high five goals to lead the Kingsmen.
Jack Bradbury,
Zane Hermann, and
Adam Dow all chipped in with two apiece.
Kayden Sourbeer helped the Kingsmen spread the ball around and dished out five assists. Bradbury, Dow, and Sourbeer put their team in good situations with two drawn ejections each.
The defenses prevailed in the SCIAC showdown.
Bo DuBois was in goal for the Kingsmen and made 10 saves with a steal and an assist. Dow and Matthies led the defense with three steals each.
Cal Lutheran got the jump in the game and led 2-1 after the first quarter. The defenses continued to control the game and CMS outscored CLU 3-2 and made it 4-4 at the half. The Stags flexed in the third quarter, outscoring the Kingsmen 3-0, and took a 7-4 lead to the fourth.
CMS opened the fourth quarter with a goal and went up 8-4. The Kingsmen responded and clawed back into the game. They outscored the Stags 5-2 in the fourth and the game went to overtime. It was a quick start for CMS as they had a 12-9 advantage at the break.
The Kingsmen responded once again and tied the game at 12-12 with 10 seconds left. The Stags had the final say and scored the winning goal as time expired.
The Kingsmen are now 2-1 in conference and 4-10 overall. They are back in the water on Saturday at Pomona-Pitzer at 11 a.m.
