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Whittier, CA — The Occidental men's water polo team played a close game against Whittier last night. Low scoring by the Tigers in the third period would be the opening the Poets needed to pull out ahead and finish 13-10. Outside of the low scoring in the third, the Tigers traded goals with the Poets in the well balanced match.
Occidental was led by Shea Grosz (Lafayette, CA) who opened the scoring within the first 30 seconds of the game. Following a Whittier goal, Kellen Radtkey (Santa Barbara, CA) generated a goal for the Tigers. Akom Khera (Citrus Heights, CA) and Nate Fisher (LaGrange, IL) attacked strongly in the middle periods, each picking up two goals. At the halfway point, the Tigers and Poets were tied, five all.
Although Oxy outshot Whittier 34-29, in the third period, the Tigers struggled to get past Whittier goalkeeper Austin Dale. Nate Fisher was the only Tiger to slip a goal past Dale in the third period. In the final quarter, Jasper Lee (South Pasadena, CA) found the net and started the Tigers on their comeback. Joseph Cox (Fresno, CA) and Grosz were the other two Tigers to earn goals in the final minutes. Cox added one and Grosz picked up two goals. The Tigers were able to match the Poets in goals in the final period with each team adding four to their score. Altogether, six Tigers scored in the game.
In the Oxy goal was Cole Ivie who challenged the Whittier Offense and had five key saves that kept the Tigers within striking distance.
Next Games: The Tigers return to their home pool this Saturday, October 16, for two games. Up first is the University of Redlands at 11:00 a.m., followed by a game against Cerritos at 4:00 p.m. Redlands and Cerritos will play each other at 1:00 p.m.
