WHITTIER, Calif. – With a break in SCIAC men's water polo action, the Poets competed in the Gary Troyer Invitational in Claremont. Friday marked day one of the tournament, with Whittier facing Division I UC Irvine and Division II Concordia University Irvine. The Poets battled both opponents but went 0-2 on the day.

GAME ONE: UC IRVINE 13, WHITTIER 6

The Poets trailed 2-0 for most of the first period before goals from Sebastian Cadena and Jason Dickson in the final minute evened the score at 2-2.

UC Irvine took control over the next two periods, scoring eight unanswered goals to build a 10-2 advantage heading into the fourth.

Whittier responded with an impressive showing in the final period, outscoring the Anteaters 4-3. Daniel Totev led the late offensive surge with a hat trick, while Tal Fotin added another goal, but the Poets ultimately fell 13-6.

Totev also recorded an assist, while goalie Mike Hale notched 10 saves and two steals.

The Poets looked to carry their fourth-period momentum into their second matchup of the day.

GAME TWO: CONCORDIA IRVINE 15, WHITTIER 8

Concordia jumped out to an early 3-0 advantage in the first period. Dickson answered with his second goal of the day to cut Whittier's deficit to two. The Golden Eagles responded with two more before the end of the period to take a 5-1 lead.

Concordia struck again at the beginning of the second, but Cadena rifled one into the back of the cage to keep the Poets within striking distance at 6-2. Three additional CUI goals stretched the margin to 9-2 heading into halftime.

Whittier came out of the break hungry and chipped away at the deficit with consecutive goals from Evan Borunda and Ivan Cardenas. The Golden Eagles answered with three straight scores of their own, pushing their advantage to 12-4 entering the fourth.

Much like the first game, Whittier rallied late and won the final period 4-3. Totev and Dickson opened the quarter with goals before Concordia countered with two of its own. Fotin found the back of the cage before Dickson added his second of the period to wrap up the scoring in the 15-8 defeat.

Dickson finished the game with a hat trick and an assist, while Justice Lamboy recorded two steals.

The Poets return to action tomorrow for the second and final day of the Gary Troyer Invitational, taking on Augustana at 9:45 a.m. and Cal State Fullerton at 4 p.m.

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