WHITTIER, Calif. – Day 3 of the SCIAC Women's Water Polo Championships came to a close in one of the best finishes in SCIAC History as Pomona-Pitzer came from behind late to pull off the 12-11 victory in sudden death over Redlands to win their second SCIAC Championship as a program.
Game 1 (La Verne - 17, Caltech - 9)
In the 7th Place game it was all Leopards despite a strong effort from the Beavers of Caltech who totaled nine goals in the contest keeping the score close in the first half. La Verne jumped out in front early 2-0 but saw Caltech's Regan add her first goal of the game to cut the deficit to one.
After three unanswered goals from La Verne to close out the first frame Caltech opened the second with back to back goals to pull within two at 5-3. But La Verne closed out the half on a 3-1 run to go into intermission up 9-4. Coming out of the half Caltech added two quick goals to pull within four but La Verne rattled off nine straight goals to close out the game winning 17-9.
La Verne was led on offense by Lovrensky and Vargas who each totaled four goals, while Caltech's Dodd finished with a game high five goals.
Game 2 (Cal Lutheran - 10, Whittier - 6)
Cal Lutheran used a 4-1 opening quarter to pull out the 10-6 victory over Whittier despite senior Katrina Thoreson' three goal effort in the fourth that pulled the Poets within three.
Whittier received two goals from Thoreson in the first half and went into intermission down 4-2 and came out of the break to back to back goals from Howell who totaled four goals on the afternoon and Messer who totaled three for the Regals. The Purple & Gold made a valiant comeback as Melissa Reynoso and Melanie Peel found the back of the goal early in the fourth after two Cal Lutheran exclusions to pull the Poets within three but saw the Regals pull away again with a 3-2 run to close out the game.
Game 3 (Occidental - 10, Claremont-M-S-11) - Overtime
Game 3 was one of two big matchups on the day and the final score proved that as it came down to the wire in overtime with a combined five goals being scored. Claremont-M-S added three goals in the first overtime with two coming from Toohey but saw Occidental rally in the second overtime with two goals from Casey and Bailey-Findley and on the ensuing sprint Claremont-M-S took control and held on for the one goal victory.
Claremont-M-S was led by Toohey who finished with four goals, while Occidental was led by Bailey-Findley and Fujiyama who each tallied three goals apiece.
Game 4 (Redlands- 11, Pomona-Pitzer- 12) – Sudden Death
In the final game of the day between Redlands and Pomona-Pitzer, the Championship proved to be the best of them all coming down to the wire in sudden death overtime proving to be the best Championship Game in SCIAC history. In a game that pinned the top two seeds against each other, wound up being a battle till the very end.
Redlands jumped out to an early 2-0 lead and then extended it to 3-1 at the start of the second quarter but saw Pomona-Pitzer begin chipping away at the deficit always staying within striking distance throughout the game until the 5:35 mark in the fourth when Prater-Fahey found the back of the goal on a man up situation that evened the score up at 8-8. Pomona-Pitzer had an opportunity on the ensuing possession to take their first lead of the contest when a yellow card was issued to the Bulldogs but were unable to capitalize on the man up situation forcing the game into overtime.
In the first overtime session, Redlands took the early lead 9-8 but saw Pomona-Pitzer add back to back goals to take their first lead of the game at 10-9. In the second overtime period the Bulldogs caught back up and swapped the scoring with the Sagehens adding two goals compared to Pomona's one. This forced the game into a tie, which meant sudden death overtime had to be played with the golden goal rule implemented.
In the extra session both teams had quality looks on goal but in the end Prater-Fahey connected on the game winner sliding the ball past an outstretched Lupfer from 5 meters out. This proved to be the game winner as the Sagehens pulled out the 12-11 victory and their second SCIAC Championship title.
On offense Pomona was led by Oxborough-Yankus who finished with five goals, while Nippert and Tuipolotu finished with four goals apiece.
