Photo by: Tony Leon/ActionWestPhotography.com
WHITTIER, Calif. - The Whittier College men's water polo team once again found themselves matched up against yet another Div. I opponent in the likes of UC San Diego and for the fifth time this season they have dropped a game to a nationally ranked Div. I team.
Head Coach Justin Pudwill year after year schedules a very tough pre-season schedule with countless matchups against strong Div. I opponents and the Poets found that out once again as they dropped a 14-7 decision to the No. 11 Tritons of UC San Diego Saturday morning.
Whittier drops to 2-6 overall while UC San Diego moves back to .500 improving to 3-3.
The Tritons opened up the game with a 4-0 run led by Stiling who tallied six goals for the game until Kyle Catino was able to stop the bleeding at the 3:04 mark. Then with 21 seconds remaining in the frame, Eoghan Foley got into the mix with a full strength goal that pulled the Poets within two after one quarter.
UCSD extended their lead in the second to 7-2 with back to back goals from Stiling but Whittier responded with three of the next four goals to pull within three at 8-5. The three goals came from Christian Sook, Goran Mataic, and Cameron Rehm.
But that's as close as Whittier would get as UCSD closed out the first half with two goals to move their lead to 10-5.
Coming out in the second half, the defense picked up from both sides with a combined six goals being scored. Whittier was held scoreless throughout the third until Rehm was able to find the back of the net with 13 seconds to go to capitalize off of a Triton exclusion to move the score to 12-6.
In the fourth, Whittier was again held to one goal coming from Mataic who tallied his second goal of the contest coming on a five meter, which stemmed from Michael Eachus who was able to get around a defender deep in Triton territory drawing a foul.
This was all the offense Whittier was able to gather as UCSD held on for the eight goal victory. The Poets have the afternoon off before hosting the Tigers of Occidental College this evening at 6:00pm to open SCIAC play.
