WHITTIER, Calif. – Cal Lutheran men's water polo battled through a back-and-forth contest Saturday morning, holding off Whittier for a 12-11 road victory at the Lillian Slade Aquatics Center. The Kingsmen weathered a late Poets comeback to secure the one-goal win and improve to 9-10 overall and 4-1 in SCIAC play.
Cal Lutheran jumped out to an early lead, scoring three times in the opening period behind goals from
Paul Patterson,
Ceasar Nava and
Carson DaKroob. The Kingsmen carried a 3-1 advantage into the second, but Whittier began to chip away, keeping Cal Lutheran off the scoreboard until
Max Gerdeman found the net midway through the period.
The Poets continued to apply pressure, pulling within one before
Dylan Moscoso scored with 37 seconds remaining in the half. Whittier answered just 18 seconds later, however, sending the Kingsmen into the break with a narrow 5-4 lead.
The back-and-forth battle continued after halftime, as Whittier quickly evened the score. Gerdeman, Patterson and
Levi Cook each found the net to help Cal Lutheran regain control, while
Merrick Giles scored with six seconds remaining in the third to give the Kingsmen a 9-7 advantage heading into the final period.
Adam Scrivner opened the fourth with his second goal of the game, but the Poets responded with three consecutive goals to tie the contest at 10-10 with 4:26 remaining. Scrivner struck again before Patterson added his third goal of the morning to put Cal Lutheran back in front, 12-10.
Whittier found the net once more with 17 seconds remaining, setting up a tense finish. The Kingsmen held firm defensively in the closing moments to preserve the one-goal victory and come away with the road win.
Patterson led Cal Lutheran with three goals, while Gerdeman and Scrivner each added two.
Jacob Taff played the entire game in goal, recording seven saves.
The contest featured plenty of action on both sides, with Cal Lutheran narrowly trailing Whittier in shots, 28-27. The teams combined for 23 exclusions in a physical matchup that remained in doubt until the final seconds.
The Kingsmen return to the Samuelson Aquatics Center on Wednesday, October 21, hosting La Verne at 4 p.m. Cal Lutheran will face the Leopards just once during the regular season, making the SCIAC matchup an important opportunity to add another conference victory.
