PASADENA – The Occidental College women's water polo team fell 10-6 to defending conference champion Pomona-Pitzer in the semifinals of the SCIAC Championships on Saturday.
Oxy struggled offensively against a strong Sagehens defense, which relied on aggressive perimeter fouls to prevent the Tigers offense from penetrating.
The Tigers defense, led by senior goalie Rachel Adeleye (Elizabeth, N.J.), who finished with a game-high 12 saves, was equally impressive early on. Oxy limited Pomona-Pitzer to just one goal in the first quarter and trailed by just two goals going into the half.
Pomona-Pitzer, however, was able to capitalize on numerous exclusions called against the Tigers. The Sagehens converted 5 of 8 power plays and a penalty shot.
On the offensive end, the Tigers were led by the senior duo of Nanea Fujiyama (Honolulu) and Danielle Garcia (Houston, Texas), who each finished with two goals.
Juniors Lindsay Albino (Greenwich, Conn.) and Morgan McClafferty (Huntington Beach) accounted for the remainder of the Oxy offense with one goal each.
Pomona-Pitzer's Kate Schaefer scored four goals and goalie Sarah Tuggy made 10 saves.
Oxy will play in the third-place match tomorrow at 1 p.m. at Pasadena City College against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, who narrowly lost 10-9 to Redlands in the other semifinal.
