ORANGE, Calif. — The men's water polo team traveled to Chapman University for a game against the Panthers for the second time in a week.  Last Sunday, the two teams squared off at the Aggie Shootout in Davis where the Panthers rolled to a 14-8 win. Sunday, in Orange Occidental put up a much better effort before eventually succumbing 11-9.

Oxy got on the board during the first minute of play when junior Joe Reynolds, left open on the perimeter, scored from 7meters out.  Chapman countered with a goal of their own after an exclusion lead to a power-play goal and 1-1 tie.  Chapman would go up 2-1 after another power play goal later in the quarter.  Oxy struggled all day with exclusions, as they were called for 11 kick-outs to Chapman's six.

Oxy would end the first quarter with a 3-2 lead after consecutive goals by seniors Tai McDermott and Richard Dybas.  In the second quarter it looked like the Occidental would pull away, as they scored three unanswered goals, two by sophomore Jack Stabenfeldt.  Stabenfeldt is quickly becoming a force on the offensive end for the Tigers having amassed six goals in his last three games.  Chapman would finally get back on the board scoring their first goal since mid-way through the first quarter to cut Oxy's lead to 6-3 at the half.

The third quarter was all Chapman.  The Panthers would cut the Oxy lead to one on back to back counter attack goals early in the quarter.  After a time-out, the Tigers scored their only goal of the quarter, a perimeter shot by senior Brendan Whitmore, to put Oxy back up by two.  Whitmore lead the Tigers with three goals, for his second hat-trick in as many games.  Chapman scored two more times before the end of the quarter to tie the score at seven going into the final frame.

The Panthers scored first in the fourth quarter to take the lead for the first time since the 4:44 mark of the first quarter, but Oxy came right back to re-tie the game on their next possession, thanks to a sweep shot by Whitmore from two-meters.    The Panthers converted a power-play goal mid-way through the quarter to take the lead for good, but the Tigers didn't roll over.  Down 10-8 with just over three minutes to play Oxy was able to draw two more exclusions; converting on one, but couldn't find the back of the net down the stretch, enabling Chapman to hold on for the win.

Head Coach Larry Zubrin was upset with the loss, but noted the teams improvement over the past week.

"It's never fun losing whether it be by 20 goals or two, but clearly we're getting better." Zubrin said.  "They handled us a week ago, and today, in their home pool, it was a much different game.  We're still very optimistic about our chances this season, and our performance today shows that we're not a team you can just look past."

The Tigers will return to action next weekend at the Claremont Convergence with two games Friday at Pomona College and two more on Saturday at the University of La Verne.  From there Oxy will travel to Costa Mesa, CA for a game against NAIA powerhouse Vanguard University on October 12^th, followed by the home opener against Division I foe Iona College on October 13^th.  Oxy's first SCIAC match will be at home on October 15^th vs. Pomona-Pitzer. 

Box Score                   1^st        2^nd       3^rd        4^th        TOTAL

Occidental                    3          3          1          2          9

Chapman                      2          1          4          4          11

Goals Scored:

Occidental-Whitmore-3, Stabenfeldt-2, McDermott-2, Reynolds-1, Dybas-1

Chapman-Alvarado-3, Cutler-2, Carter-2, Carson-2, Van Nordheim-1, Breitfeller-1

Saves:

Occidental-Churchman-12

Chapman-Roskos-14