THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – Cal Lutheran men's water polo defeated the Occidental Tigers 15-10 at Samuelson Aquatics Center on Wednesday night, officially clinching their spot in the SCIAC Tournament.

After being down 7-4 at halftime, the Kingsmen rallied for 11 goals while holding Oxy to just three in the second half to take the match and send the team back to the postseason.

Cormac Flanders was the standout performer for Cal Lutheran (14-12, 7-4 SCIAC), scoring four goals and recording three steals. Behind him was Lincoln Hall who added three goals and two steals. Kayden Sourbeer and Alan Castillo each contributed two goals while Ethan Guereca, Levi Cook, Justin Boals, and Zachary Isaac netted one apiece. 

Bo DuBois and Jaeger Gonzales equally shared time in goal tonight, combining for nine saves. Gonzales had seven of the nine in the exhilarating second half comeback.

For Occidental (11-13, 2-9 SCIAC), Travis Hughes and Aiden Cawley led with three goals each, and goalkeeper James Derrod made 10 saves.

The Kingmen will conclude the regular season with an 11:00 AM match at No. 3 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on Saturday, November 16th. The outcome of the game determines whether or not Cal Lutheran will serve as the host for round one of the conference tournament. 

"If we could get a home game that would be phenomenal," said Head Coach Tim Settem. "We've got a tough road ahead of us going out to Claremont and they're a tough team… We have some confidence and when we start playing the way we're capable of we can make something happen."

Looking ahead, the first round of SCIAC is set for Tuesday, November 19th.