SAN DIEGO, Calif. –The Whittier College men's water polo team scored seven first quarter goals and went on to shutout the Leopards of the University of La Verne in the second half in route to a 12-5 victory.
Senior utility player Keary Schlactus continued where he left off after yesterdays stellar performance against the Stags of CMS where he finished with four goals to finish today's contest with three goals of his own to lead the Purple and Gold.
From the beginning to the end, the Poets controlled every aspect of the game from offense to defense and finished off the Leopards in impressive fashion clinching their 12th win of the season.
Whittier now holds a 3-0 season record over the Leopards gaining wins that included 10-9, 11-10, and now 12-5.
With this win, the Poets will now play for ninth place in the WWPA Championships as they take on the Panthers of Chapman University tomorrow, Saturday, November 19 beginning at 12:00pm. The previous time these two teams met, Chapman won 9-8 on a last second goal that sealed the victory.
DAY 2 RECAP
QUARTERFINAL #1 - #12 UC Davis 6, #20 Air Force 3
UC Davis scored four of its six goals in the final quarter to overcome a one-goal deficit and earn a 6-3 win over 20th-ranked Air Force in the first quarterfinal of the 2011 WWPA Men's Championship on Friday. The 12th-ranked Aggies advance to the semifinals and will face winner of LMU/Redlands at 1:30 p.m., Saturday. Air Force goalie Danny Harold shutout UC Davis in the second and third quarters to give the Falcons a 3-2 lead heading into the final quarter. He finished with 15 saves. Six different players scored for UC Davis.
QUARTERFINAL #2 - #14 Santa Clara 10, Pomona-Pitzer 6
For the second straight quarterfinal, the higher seed needed late goals to come from behind to advance. Santa Clara trailed 5-4 late in the third, but scored the last two goals of the quarter and the first two of the fourth frame to earn a 10-6 win over sixth-seed Pomona-Pitzer in the second quarterfinal of the 2011 WWPA Men's Championship. The 14th-ranked Broncos advance to the second semifinal thanks to outscoring the Sagehens 6-1 the final 11 minutes of the game.
QUARTERFINAL #3 - #11 UC San Diego 12, Claremont 8
UC San Diego held off a fierce third quarter rally by Claremont and then pulled away in the fourth for a 12-8 win in the third quarterfinal, advancing to the second semifinal against #14 Santa Clara at 3 p.m. on Saturday in the 2011 WWPA Men's Championships. Graham Saber had four goals while David Morton had eight saves to lead the Tritons into the semifinals.
QUARTERFINAL #4 - #10 LMU 13, Redlands 2
LMU scored the first 13 goals of the game and ran away with a 13-2 win over Redlands to advance to the semifinals against #12 UC Davis at 1:30 p.m. Goalie Kyle Testman posted a first half shutout and combined with Gavyn Wild, the Lions defense made 11 saves and allowed two goals for the second straight time against a WWPA foe.
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GAME 05: Chapman 14, Occidental 4
Chapman jumped to a 6-0 lead after the first quarter and never looked back to earn a 14-4 win over Occidental in the first game of Day Two at the 2011 WWPA Men's Championships. David Carson had five goals and Mark Alvarado had four for Chapman.
GAME 06: Whittier 12, La Verne 5
Whittier scored seven first quarter goals and went on to shutout LaVerne in the second half for a 12-5 win in Game Six of the 2011 WWPA Men's Championships. Keary Schlactus scored three goals Friday. Whittier will face Chapman for 9th place while Occidental will face La Verne for 11th.
Saturday, Nov. 19
Game 11: 11th Place - No. 12 Occidental vs. No. 11 La Verne - 10:30 am
Game 12: 9th Place - No. 9 Chapman vs. No. 10 Whittier - 12:00 pm
Championship Semifinals:
Game 13: Semifinal #1 - Nov. 4 UC Davis vs. No. 1 LMU - 1:30 pm
Game 14: Semifinal #2 - No. 3 Santa Clara vs. No. 2 UC San Diego - 3:00 pm
Consolation Semifinals:
Game 15: No. 5 Air Force vs. No. 8 Redlands - 4:30 pm
Game 16: No. 6 Pomona-Pitzer vs. No. 7 Claremont - 6:00 pm
