Photo by: Tony Leon/ActionWestPhotography.com
Article by: Carsen West
WHITTIER, Calif. - The Whittier College men's water polo team took part in their final home game of the season Wednesday night, taking on No. 3 Chapman University. Still rolling with the momentum from their recent win against California Baptist University, the Poets stormed out to a 10-4 lead en route to edging the Panthers 12-10 at the Lillian Slade Aquatic Center.
With the win the Poets have now extended their winning streak to eight games and remain unbeaten in Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) play at 7-0. They are currently 19-12 on the season looking to repeat as SCIAC Champions as they currently have a winning streak of 15 games within SCIAC play dating back to last season in 2013. In their last 18 games within the conference the Purple & Gold are 17-1 with the lone loss coming to Cal Lutheran back on October 23, 2013 14-13 in overtime.
Chapman won the opening sprint and right away began working their speed in the water for early counter situations. A ball stolen from a Panther advantage would put Whittier back in possession inside center and with the Panther goalie Neil jumping to crash on a set pass into Wedge Molthen (Buena Park, Calif.), the sophomore would be able to flip one into the back net for the first score of the evening.
Another rushed counter attempt by Chapman turned the ball over in favor of the Poets, leaving senior Goran Mataic (Split, Croatia) uncovered at center cage for an uncontested goal, which put Whittier up two. An ejection drawn by junior Justin Pratt (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) set senior teammate Filip Delic (Split, Croatia) up to bar out a shot on the near side, but Mataic would recover the rebound on the post, finishing that put WC in front 3-0.
Senior goalie Ryan Brunansky (Poway, Calif.) shut out the Panthers in the first minutes of the second quarter, coming up with a huge block against a close-range shot on the 2 meter line. Impressively strong defensive play by the Poets held Chapman stagnant on a number of man-up possessions, before great inside water position earned by Molthen brought another goal to extend the lead to 4-0.
Though Chapman would manage to sneak in their first tally of the game, senior Marko Zuric (Split, Croatia) answered the very next possession with a high corner sniped in from the outside. One more lucky goal for the Panthers put the score at 5-2, with offensive calls plaguing both teams through the end of the first half.
With Chapman taking the sprint and an early goal to start the third quarter to pull within two, the Poets felt the pressure and immediately found their offensive niche adding three unanswered. A quick turn move by Mataic in the center and a cross cage skip shot tucked under the Panther goalie's arm by freshmen Massimiliano Mirarchi (Rome, Italy) set Whittier up on a 5-1 run that would put the score at 10-4 going into the last quarter of play.
Chapman would storm back however to begin the fourth with Justin Pudwill electing to play his entire second unit to start things off, but that would end quickly as the Panthers would rally for four of the first five goals to pull within three 11-8. But despite the comeback it wouldn't be enough as a strong center move from Molthen and another outside skip shot from Zuric off a 5-meter penalty would hold the score at 12-10 to keep the victory for the Purple & Gold.
Whittier returns to the pool this Saturday, November 15, hitting the road to take on the Leopards of the University of La Verne beginning at 11:00am.
