Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 WHITTIER, Calif. (Sept. 22, 2023) – Junior goalie
Kenshiro Matsuzawa (Brooklyn, Japan / St. Francis) of the Whittier College men's water polo team had another huge day for the rebuilding Poets, who played two games on Friday. The first game came against No. 1 California University in Los Angeles, while the second came in the form of a SCIAC contest against Chapman University back at the Slade Aquatics Center.
Cal 23, Whittier 3
The Poets had a tall order to start their Friday, but overall gave a good account of themselves against a national title favorite in Cal, along with star player and two-time ACWPC National Player of the Year Nikolaos Papanikolaou. Matsuzawa and the Poets held the impressive Papanikolaou out of the goals column with the junior making two huge saves against the Bears' star center. Matsuzawa also stopped two more five-meter penalty shots, making it a perfect 5-for-5 on penalty stops since Wednesday's game against Occidental College. He finished the game with four saves in all, and grabbed an additional two steals as an active presence and the Poets' last line of defense.
Offensively, the Purple & Gold were able to have some early success against the Bears, with
Andrew Muro (Whittier, Calif. / La Serna) opening scoring for Whittier in the first period. Two more goals came off the shot of freshman
Julian Breck (Norwalk, Calif. / La Serna), with Muro and
Elish Sanszybay (Almaty, Kazakhstan) assisting on the goals.
Chapman 19, Whittier 6
Contrary to the game against Cal, this time, the young Poets had their best moments late in the game. Matsuzawa stood tall once again with 11 saves against a relentless Panthers attack, and freshman
Brody Haney (Tustin, Calif. / Mt. Saint Mary's University) also had a big game in his own right. Haney scored a third-period goal off a scoop-and-score deep in the Panthers' own zone, and drew a season-best four exclusions. Senior center
Ben Ramans (Los Altos, Calif. / St. Francis) was also effective in this area, drawing two exclusions to go with his two goals. Junior transfer
Cardin Chavez (University Place, Wash. / Westcliff University) also found the back of the net twice, and Breck rounded out Whittier scorers.
Head Coach Preslav Djippov and the Poets will play two more games on Saturday. The first will come against No. 12 University of California, Irvine at 8 a.m., with their ensuing opponent to be determined based on the fallout from other games in the MPSF Invite.
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