PASADENA — Jack Stabenfeldt (Larkspur) led the Tigers with four goals, and two Oxy players added three as the Occidental College men's water polo team opened the 2012 season with a 15-10 win over Caltech in the first of a two-game set in Pasadena today.

Samuel Akiyama (Aptos) and Joe Reynolds (Souderton, Pa.) each had a hat trick for Oxy (1-0).

Kirk Follette (Santa Monica) and Jalen Lubbers (Grandville, Mich.) added two goals apiece.  Follette added a team high three assists. 

Freshman Tyler Wilson (Palo Alto) scored his first collegiate goals, while freshman goalie Josh Needleman (Boca Raton, Fla.) came off the bench to record five saves in the second half.

The Tigers converted on 15 of 38 shots on goal, and committed 12 turnovers in the game.

"It was a sluggish start for us," Oxy head coach Larry Zubrin said. "We worked hard, but we seemed to be pressing mentally a little too much, forcing bad shots and making bad passes. In the end, we were able to compose ourselves and get a win."

BOX SCORE          1st     2nd     3rd     4th     TOTAL

Occidental              3         3         5         4        15

Caltech                  1         2         3         4        10

GOALS SCORED:

OCCIDENTAL-Stabenfeldt-4, Reynolds-3, Akiyama-3, Follette-2, Lubbers-2, Wilson-1

CALTECH-Ja.Blackwood-2, Ji.Blackwood-2, McDonald-2, Kwong-1, Penserini-1, Culpepper-1, Ecj-1

SAVES:

OCCIDENTAL-Churchman-6, Needleman-5

CALTECH-Grabowski-8

In Game 2, Oxy beat Chaffey College 23-2. 

The Tigers reeled off nine unanswered goals in the first quarter and never looked back.

14 different players scored for Occidental (2-0), with Lubbers tossing in a career high five goals.  Fellow Sophomore Torin Ortmayer (Arlington, VA) collected his first career hat trick with a three-goal effort.

Junior goalie Patrick Fish (Great Falls, VA), who sat out the last two seasons with injury, collected 13 saves to lead the defense.

Zubrin was much more pleased with the Tigers effort in the second game of their doubleheader.

"It was a much better all-around effort by us," he said. "We responded well to some of the mistakes in the first game and I was pleased with our execution."

BOX SCORE          1st     2nd     3rd     4th     TOTAL

Occidental              9          5        5        4          23

Chaffey                  0          1        0        1          2

GOALS SCORED:

OCCIDENTAL-Lubbers-5, Ortmayer-3, Follette-2, Franscioni-2, Akiyama-2, Dakan-1, Whitmore-1, Stabenfedlt-1, Maloney-1, Rothwell-1, Wilson-1, Heffner-1, Sinclair-1, Virshup-1

CHAFFEY-Brawn-1, Szpyrka-1

SAVES:

OCCIDENTAL-Churchman-5, Fish-13

CHAFFEY-Mondragon-5