Photo by: Tony Leon/ActionWestPhotography.com
Article by: Hannah Ellett
WHITTIER, CA – The Whittier College men's water polo team used a big fourth quarter Saturday night to defeat the Lancers of California Baptist University in a close 13-10 victory.
The non-conference matchup extended the Poets record to 18-12 overall, which includes an 8-2 record at home and keeps their winning streak alive at seven games.
The Lancers led with a slight margin up until midway through the third when Filip Delic (Split, Croatia) and Wedge Molthen (Buena Park, Calif.) would capitalize off of two CBU turnovers tying things up at eight. But back to back tallies by the Lancers coming off of man-up situations would put them back up by two 10-8 after three quarters of play.
In the fourth, the Poets defensive unit came alive holding the Lancers scoreless, while adding five goals themselves. Marko Zuric (Split, Croatia) and Delic helped tie the game up at 10-10 in the early minutes of the final period. Then two goals from Goran Mataic (Split, Croatia) and one from Zuric in the final moments of the game would seal the victory for the Purple & Gold.
Massimiliano Mirarchi (Rome, Italy) contributed two early goals for the Poets but was later rolled from the game for a confrontation early in the third quarter. After losing one of their key players, the Poets were able to rally late in the game and pull off the victory.
Mataic was the top scorer of the game earning a total of four goals for the Poets. Zuric was able to put three on the board, while both Delic and Molthen contributed two goals each.
From the cage, Ryan Brunansky (Poway, Calif.) made it real difficult for the Lancers to get any clean looks on goal as he limited their outside shots, coming away with a total of ten saves.
Whittier returns to the water this Wednesday, November 12 at 7:00pm for a big Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) showdown with the Panthers of Chapman University.
