By Kendrick Mooney

LOS ANGELES – Carly Zurcher scored four second-half goals, but the Occidental women's water polo team fell short of an upset against first-place Whittier 14-7 in its final game of the season at Taylor Pool on Saturday.

Whittier is undefeated in conference play.

Hi'ipoi Lee had two goals for the Tigers and Monica Chernoff added a goal.

The Tigers fell into a hole in the first quarter with Whittier's first three scores coming from power plays. With Oxy's leading scoring Zurcher benched for most of the first half due to foul trouble, the Tigers' offense struggled to make plays.

Lee got the Tigers on the board at the end of the first quarter off a hook shot from the two-meter line, bringing the score to 6-1 to finish the quarter.

The Tigers played good defense down the stretch, but were unable to come back from an early deficit.

Zyania Morales led the Poets with five goals.

The Tigers fall to 1-7 in conference play. Whittier improves to 8-0.

Senior Day: Before the start of the game, the Tigers paid tribute to the seniors. Anna De Groot, Abby Appel, Carly Zurcher, Amanda Akiyama, Mirei Yasuda, Zulema Iboa-Garcia and Kyla Hauck were honored with a brief pregame ceremony.

Next Game: The Tigers will finish their season at the SCIAC championship hosted by La Verne. The first game will take place April 22.