THOUSAND OAKS — One day after shocking UC Santa Barbara, the No. 10 ranked NCAA Division I women's water polo team, in the first game of a 2-0 Day 1 at the Posada Royale Invitational, Occidental College continued its hot streak with a pair of wins on Sunday.
Oxy (10-2) held off a strong comeback attempt by Cal State Monterey Bay for a thrilling 13-12 win in its first game, then took down tournament host and SCIAC rival Cal Lutheran 10-7 in Game 2, making it a perfect 4 for 4 at the tournament and nine in a row on the season.
After going 4-0 at each of its last two weekend tournaments, Oxy is off to one of the best starts in program history with a 10-2 overall record.
The Tigers lost two of their first three games earlier this year to Azusa Pacific and Pacific before beginning their current unbeaten streak that dates back to Feb. 18.
GAME 1: Occidental 13, Cal State Monterey Bay 12
Junior Nanea Fujiyama (Honolulu) scored six of her game-high seven goals in the first half goals, giving Oxy a 9-4 lead mid-way through the second quarter.
Oxy Senior Tessa Bailey-Findley (Anaheim Hills, CA) had the other three Tigers goals in the first half, her fifth hat trick in 12 games this season, and Oxy held a comfortable lead at the break.
CSUMB went on a 6-2 run though in the third quarter, cutting the Tigers lead down to one heading into the fourth.
"We came out playing some of our best polo of the season, but late in the first half the girls started trying to slow things down, and you really can't do that against a talented team like (CSUMB)," Occidental coach Larry Zubrin said.
A perimeter goal by Morgan McClafferty (Huntington Beach, CA), in the closing seconds of the third quarter gave Oxy the slight advantage going into the final eight minutes of the game.
Monterey Bay evened the score for the second time in the second half at 11 with an early goal in the fourth, but the Tigers responded with back-to-back goals from Fujiyama and Corrine Casey (Lodi) to give the Tigers the lead for good.
"This was definitely one of our better games of the season." Zubrin said. "It's not often that you lose momentum against a good team like that, and comeback to find a way to win."
BOX SCORE 1st 2nd 3rd 4th TOTAL
Occidental 7 2 2 2 13
CSUMB 4 6 0 2 12
GOALS SCORED:
OCCIDENTAL-Fujiyama-7, Bailey-Findley-3, Garcia-1, McClafferty-1, Casey-1
CSUMB-Smart-4, Tyrell-3, Sowull-3, Walters-2
SAVES:
OCCIDENTAL-Adeleye-6
CSUMB-Hart-9
GAME 2: Occidental 10, Cal Lutheran 7
In the second game of the day, the Tigers once again came out hot, scoring four of the games first five goals for a 4-1 lead early in the second quarter.
Cal Lu quickly responded with back to back goals to cut the Tiger lead to one, but Bailey-Findley put the Tigers back up by two at the half.
Fujiyama, who finished with two goals, extended the Tiger lead to three after connecting on a penalty shot to open the third quarter.
Once again the Regals came storming back, scoring two in a row to cut the lead back to one. The teams traded goals in the closing minutes of the third with Oxy enjoying a slight 7-6 advantage headed into the fourth.
"They just wouldn't go away. It seemed like every time we'd get a little breathing room, Cal Lu would be right back in our face," Zubrin said. "They're definitely going to be tough to beat come conference time."
The fourth quarter was all Oxy though. The Tigers scored three consecutive goals, giving them a 10-6 lead with just more than 4 minutes to play. Cal Lutheran managed one more late goal, but the Tigers held on for their ninth consecutive win of the season.
Oxy will be back in action next weekend at the Claremont Convergence with two games Friday March 9, and two more Saturday March 10.
BOX SCORE 1st 2nd 3rd 4th TOTAL
OCCIDENTAL 3 2 2 3 10
CLU 1 2 3 1 7
GOALS SCORED:
OCCIDENTAL-Bailey-Findley-3, Casey-2, Fujiyama-2, Garcia-2, Shyba-1
CLU-Ingalla-2, Bergman-2, Messer-1, McCardell-1, Howell-1
SAVES:
OCCIDENTAL-Adeleye-6
CLU-Tomasetti-5
