Photo by: Tony Leon/ActionWestPhotography.com
LOS ANGELES, Calif. – The Whittier College Men's Water Polo team split on the first day of the LMU Invitational Saturday falling to the host LMU 19-8 before bouncing back to edge Pomona-Pitzer 10-9.
Game 1 (Loyola Marymount – L, 19-8)
With the game at 6-5, LMU used an ensuing 13-3 run that gave them the 19-8 win during the first game of the LMU Invitational. Whittier had a lead early at 2-1 and then at 3-2 in the first quarter thanks to Mihailo Vuja (Belgrade, Serbia) and Eoghan Foley (Sterling, VA) but saw the Lions add a goal at the :41 second mark that gave them a 5-4 lead after the first eight minutes.
In the second, Whittier saw the deficit move to three on a couple occasions being outscored 5-2 but still stayed in striking distance at 10-6 at the half. In the third, Whittier would add two more goals from Massimiliano Mirarchi (Rome, Italy) and Molthen but they would be the final two added in the game as Whittier would be shutout in the fourth quarter en route to their fourth loss on the season.
Game 2 (Pomona-Pitzer – W, 10-9)
These two teams met last weekend during the Inland Empire Classic with Whittier pulling off the 16-9 victory, but this time around the Sagehens played the No. 1 team in the country to a 10-9 decision keeping the game entertaining the entire way through.
Following the first eight minutes of play, Whittier held a 3-1 advantage scoring three in a row after seeing PP take an early lead 1-0. In the second, the Sagehens would answer with back to back tallies that tied things up at 3-3 but the Purple & Gold would close out the frame with three of their own from Wedge Molthen (Buena Park, Calif.), Justin Pratt (Manhattan Beach, Calif.), and Gavin Kerr (Palo Alto, Calif.) that gave Whittier a 6-3 lead at the break.
Molthen and Aidan Tol (Tustin, Calif.) would give the Poets some cushion out of the break with back to back goals and Austin Ringheim (Los Alamitos, Calif.) would add his second of the game that kept WC in front 9-5 after three quarters.
But in the fourth, Pomona-Pitzer would find their offense outscoring Whittier 4-1 providing a scare but thanks to the final goal from Vuja Whittier was able to hold on for the one goal victory.
Whittier returns to the pool next Friday, September 25 when they host Navy beginning at 7:00pm and then will have a doubleheader on Sunday, September 27 against Air Force (12:00pm) and Orange Coast (3:00pm).
