WHITTIER, Calif. (Sept. 28, 2022)-  The Whittier Poets overpowered the visiting Caltech Beavers Wednesday night in their second conference game of the year, 16-9.

"It felt good to get our first conference win of the year," said Ethan Saenz, who finished with five goals and three steals. "I was able to take advantage of opportunities to score tonight on the offensive side. I am excited for this weekend's tournament with the team". 

The Poets found themselves in an early deficit trailing 2-0 less than one minute into the first. Whittier would then go on a run, scoring four unanswered goals and ultimately leaving the first quarter with a 5-3 lead. The leaders of the Poets comeback were Saenz, who scored three goals during the run, and Luke Shropshire, who added two. 

The second started slow for the Poets too. It was not until Saenz would score again halfway through the period to pull his total for the game to four. Whittier would then get two more goals, one from Tommy Baier and another from Saenz, but not before Caltech would tack on two more to make the score 8-5 atthe half. 

The third was a strong period for Whittier, as it scored five goals and played well defensively, allowing just two goals. Patrick Seelhorst and Shropshire provided two goals each for the Poets, while Ricky Reyes Jr. added to his season total with a goal. The Poets led 13-7 at the end of the third. 

As the fourth started, the Poets had full control of the game. Freshman Harrison Eaton put even more points on the board for Whittier, scoring two goals for himself, and Seelhorst added another. The final score The Poets were able to take this game in a commanding fashion winning by 7 goals. The Poets had contributions from nearly everyone, including Shropshire who had four goals and an assist and Seehorst who contributed three scores. The final score was 16-9 in favor of the Poets.

Whittier had goalies Owen Printup and Austin Dale see two quarters of action each, with both posting a +.420 save percentage. 

"It felt good to get our first conference win of the year," Saenz said. "I was able to take advantage of opportunities to score tonight on the offensive side. I am excited for this weekend's tournament with the team". 

The Poets travel to Claremont this weekend to play four games in the Gary Troyer Tournament. They take on Johns Hopkins Friday at 11:20 a.m. before facing Air Force at 3:20 p.m.. Then on Saturday, they battle Biola at 9:00 a.m. before wrapping up against Westcliff at 1:00 p.m.. 

Photo: Tony Leon/ActionWestPhotography.com