CLOVIS – The Occidental College men's water polo team put up a strong effort but failed to come away with a win in two games last weekend against Division I No. 14 Santa Clara University and host Fresno Pacific University.
Santa Clara 12, Occidental 6
In the first game, Oxy fell behind 8-2 in the first half, but played even with the Broncos the rest of the way.
The Tigers struggled offensively, hitting just 6 of 22 shots, but head coach Larry Zubrin was pleased with the team's overall performance.
"We played well and got some great looks on goal," Zubrin said. "Their goalie did a great job, but I was pleased with how the guys worked together and took some quality shots on goal."
Five different Tigers scored in the match, with senior Christian Erwin leading the team with two goals.
"We saw some big improvement in a lot of key areas, particularly in our ball control, where we really limited the turnovers," Zubrin added. "They certainly outplayed us, but we didn't just hand the game over, we made them work the whole game. Against a ranked Division I team, that's a positive for us right now."
Samuel Akyiama. Jack Stabenfeldt, Kevin Coleman and Matt Munet rounded out Oxy's scoring with a goal apiece.
Senior Patrick Fish and freshman Adam Florsheim split time in goal. Fish stopped four shots in the fist half, while first year standout Florsheim blocked 11 in the second half.
Fresno Pacific 9, Occidental 8
The second game of the day featured a rematch against Fresno Pacific University. The Tigers lost to FPU 12-9 just a week ago at the Lancer Invite in Riverside.
This weekend's game was closer, but the end result was the same as the Sunbirds used a last minute goal on a 6-on-5 power play to take a 9-8 win over Oxy.
Trailing 1-0 after the first, the Tigers went on a 4-0 run to open the second quarter only to see FPU come storming back and take a 5-4 lead into the half.
The game would continue to go back and forth with the two teams exchanging the lead five times over the final two quarters.
Stabenfeldt recorded his third hat trick of the season with a team-leading four goals. Coleman added two for the Tigers, while Erwin and Dylan Rothwell each scored once.
Sophomore Josh Needleman manned the goal, blocking 14 shots in the game.
In spite of the team's 10th straight loss, Zubrin remained optimistic.
"It was a tough one to lose, but the guys showed a lot of heart," Zubrin said. "We had a short break and it was a long day driving up here early this morning.
"To be honest I'm not concerned with our win-loss record right now. It's more about how we're playing and how we're improving. I saw a lot of great things from the guys this weekend and I'm sure we'll get the wins when they matter."
Oxy will return to action next week at the Gary Troyer Convergence tournament. The Tigers will play four games at the event including match-ups against Fordham, Notre Dame and Penn State.
The team will conclude the weekend with a visit to Whittier College for a round robin with the Poets and Washington and Jefferson College. The two events will give Oxy a run of six games in three days, as they prepare for their first SCIAC match and home opener against Division III No. 1 Redlands on Oct. 16.
