THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – Cal Lutheran men's water polo hosted their first pair of 2024 home games, taking on UC Santa Barbara and Westcliff University on Saturday. The Kingsmen dropped game one against UCSB 7-16, then took Westcliff into overtime and fell 19-20.

GAME 1: Kingsmen 7, Gauchos 16
Cal Lutheran had a strong start against Santa Barbara in their home opener. Goals by Tommy Riffle and Justin Boals gave the Kingsmen an early 2-0 lead. The Gauchos then got on the board off a goal from Danilo Dragovic, before Paul Patterson responded with a goal of his own. Going into the second period, the Kingsmen held a 3-2 lead.

After the goal from Patterson, Cal Lutheran did not score again until the fourth period. USCB had an 11 point scoring streak with goals from five different Gauchos. Finally, Kayden Sourbeer reignited the Kingsmen offense. After four straight Gaucho goals in the last quarter, Sourbeer was able to find the back of the net making it a 4-12 game.

Santa Barbara added two more goals and continued to go back and forth with Cal Lutheran until the last second of the match. Cormac Flanders, Levi Cook, and Zane Hermann each added to the score, but the margin was still too far out of the Kingsmen's reach. 

Defensively, Bo DuBois and Jacob Taft split time in goal recording a combined 10 saves. Taft also collected three steals.

GAME 2: Kingsmen 19, Warriors 20 OT
The Kingsmen put up another strong first period in game two against Westcliff. Within the first minute, Ethan Guereca and Alan Castillo both quickly scored, followed by Lincoln Hall a minute later, giving them a 3-0 lead. The Warriors battled back, but more goals from Hall, Merrick Giles, and Sourbeer secured a 6-4 advantage for Cal Lutheran going into the second quarter.

The second and third periods consisted of an absolute thriller of back and forth scoring between the Kingsmen and Warriors. The teams were neck and neck through the middle of the match, responding to their opponent's goals within minutes of each other. For the Kingmen, Zachary Isaac, Barnabas Vidovics, Hall, Cook, Brody Swarm, and Flanders all found the back of the net.

Down 12-15 going into the last quarter, Westcliff flipped the script. They out scored Cal Lutheran 6-3, tying the game 18-18 and forcing overtime in the last 60 seconds. In the first overtime period, the Warriors shut out the Kingsmen and scored one, but just 15 seconds into the second OT period Sourbeer tied it up 19-19. The Kingsmen held strong pressure, but the Warriors found a way through the defense with just one second left, taking the game 19-20.

Jack Germann and Jaeger Gonzales shared time in goal in game two, collecting a total of 12 saves.