LOS ANGELES, Calif. (Nov. 10, 2024) -- Freshman
Zander Montoya (La Verne, Calif. / Damien) of the Whittier College men's water polo team lifted the Poets on the road in a gripping overtime showdown at Occidental College on Saturday afternoon. The Poets won the game 14-13 in sudden-death overtime.
The Poets started fast, jumping out to a two-goal lead off the shot of both Montoya and standout classmate
Noah Bigara (Cape Town, South Africa / Pinnacle Schools). While Montoya himself would be a key to victory, another would be the Poets' effectiveness during man-up situations. Out of Montoya's six goals, all but one came on either the powerplay or on five-meter penalty goals. The one that didn't proved to be the decisive tally.
After the two teams traded goals between the two overtime periods, Montoya eventually broke through in sudden death at even strength. The freshman has been one of the Poets' most consistent players this season, but had a lot of help with
Ivan Cubelic (Split, Croatia / Solaris) notching two goals and three assists while another freshman,
Ethan Klerck (Cape Town, South Africa / South African First Division), had three goals and two assists. Defensively, Montoya played just as well in front of starting goalkeeper
Loronzo Angolucci (Pescara, Italy / Serie B), another freshman. While Angolucci made an extremely impressive 18 saves (a career-high, no less), Montoya made two field blocks in front of him and came up with two steals.
Later in the day, the Poets traversed to Irvine to take on the University of California, Irvine; the eighth-ranked team in the nation. Montoya continued to play well with a goal and an assist, while freshman Cubelic led the way with four goals. Offensively, the Poets gave a good account of themselves with 11 goals against a stingy Anteaters squad.
Head Coach Preslav Djippov and the Poets will be back at home for the final two games of the season. Both are must-wins if the team is to keep their SCIAC Postseason Tournament hopes alive. The first game will take place on Wednesday night against first-place Pomona-Pitzer Colleges at 7 p.m.
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