LOS ANGELES – Cal Lutheran men's water polo earned its first SCIAC win of the season Wednesday night, defeating Occidental 11-8 at the De Mandel Aquatics Center.
The Kingsmen (4-7, 1-1 SCIAC) battled through a tight contest from the opening whistle, with both teams locked in defensively early before Cal Lutheran pulled away in the second half.
Neither team found the back of the net until there were just under three minutes remaining in the opening period, when Occidental opened the scoring.
Paul Patterson answered in the same minute, sending the game into the second quarter tied at 1-1.
The scoring picked up in the second, as the Tigers scored three straight goals to take a 4-1 lead. Cal Lutheran responded immediately with three consecutive goals of its own, with
Levi Cook and
Adam Scrivner finding the back of the net to tie the game at 4-4 heading into halftime.
Patterson gave the Kingsmen the lead back early in the third, and the teams continued to trade goals throughout the period. Cook scored midway through the quarter to put Cal Lutheran back in front, and
Merrick Giles added another with 30 seconds remaining to give the Kingsmen a 8-6 advantage heading into the final period.
Holding a two-goal lead in the fourth, Scrivner scored his second goal of the night to get the Kingsmen's offense going. Occidental then answered with two goals to pull within one with just over three minutes remaining.
Cal Lutheran's defense held firm from there, while Patterson and Giles provided the final offensive push. Patterson scored with 2:30 remaining before Giles found the back of the net with 1:19 to play, giving the Kingsmen an 11-8 lead they would not relinquish.
Patterson and Cook led Cal Lutheran with three goals apiece, while Scrivner and Giles each added two. Patterson also recorded an assist, while Giles led the Kingsmen with four steals.
Jacob Taff played the full 32 minutes in goal and made six saves.
The Kingsmen return home Thursday, October 1, for their official home opener, hosting UC Merced at 4 p.m. The matchup begins Cal Lutheran's final stretch of nonconference action before the Kingsmen head to the Gary Troyer Tournament this weekend, hosted by Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and Pomona-Pitzer, before returning to SCIAC play next week.
