Photo by: Tony Leon/ActionWestPhotography.com
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – The Whittier College women's water polo team dropped their fifth SCIAC game and fourth straight 11-5 to the Regals of Cal Lutheran University Wednesday evening dropping their overall record to 12-17, 1-5 SCIAC.
Fifty seven seconds into the game Cal Lutheran added the first score of the contest as senior Sarah Mock found fellow senior Kelsey Bergemann . But Whittier answered with a goal from Jae Crabtree who struck quickly following a Regal exclusion that evened the score at 1-1. But that's as close as Whittier would get to a lead as Cal Lutheran rattled off six straight goals to extend their lead to 7-1 going into the half.
A comfortable six-goal lead for Cal Lutheran coming out in the third was then squeezed to two after Laurel Pinkley, Katrina Thoreson, Melissa Reynoso, and Katie Vazquez scored within the opening 5:33 behind a pair of player-advantage scores, a converted penalty shot, and a final even strength goal from Thoreson that pulled the Poets to 7-5.
The Regals stopped the run though when Bergemann found the back of the goal for her third goal of the contest with just under 2:30 remaining and immediately following the Poet offense was then shut down being shut out over the next eleven minutes of play in regulation.
Whittier goalie Mattie Winkler made nine stops in goal including four first quarter saves, while her counterpart Kylee Tomasetti finished with ten saves.
The Poets return to action this Saturday, April 21 for a doubleheader against SCIAC opponent Pomona-Pitzer beginning at 11am followed by a game against Chapman University at 5pm.
