Photo by: Tony Leon/ActionWestPhotography.com
PASADENA, Calif. – The Whittier College women's water polo team continues to seek their first win of the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships but will have to wait till tomorrow when they face La Verne after they dropped a tough 13-12 decision to Chapman during second round action this evening.
Whittier now drops to 1-1 on the season with Chapman after defeating them in their season finale 7-6 at the Lillian Slade Aquatic Center.
Chapman jumped out in front 1-0 but saw Whittier even the game up two minutes later from Alyssa Rangel but that would be the lone score of the quarter as the Panthers would tally two more late to take a 3-1 advantage.
Rangel would connect on her second goal of the game to keep the Purple & Gold within striking distance at 4-2 until CU would add another to again go back ahead by three. The Poets however on their next possession would draw an exclusion and they would capitalize as Melanie Peel found the back of the goal to pull Whittier within two once more.
After back to back goals from Kate Staskus and Rylee Boland of CU, Whittier responded tallying the final two goals of the second quarter from Rangel and Cynthia Castillo that kept the goal differential at two. One came off of a 5 meter and the other off of a man up situation.
Out of the half, Whittier's Laurel Pinkley and Rangel struck quickly getting goals off of a turnover and a man up opportunity that pulled the Poets even at seven but Chapman responded with two unanswered that again put them back up by two. Whittier's Sabrina Carlile then got into the mix tallying her first goal of the contest off of an exclusion and then with ten seconds to play in the frame, Jae Crabtree added her first score that once again pulled WC within one at 10-9.
Opening up the fourth, Whittier would tie the game up at 10 with a goal 1:15 in from Carlile but that's as close as they would get as the Panthers would add three in a row to take a three goal lead and despite scoring the last two goals of the quarter from Peel and Carlile that pulled the Poets within one, it wouldn't be enough as CU would hold on for the one goal victory.
Whittier now takes on the University of La Verne tomorrow, Sunday, April 28 beginning at 10:00am in a showdown for 7th place.
