Photo by samsphotoservices.com
Los Angeles, CA — The Occidental men's water polo team opened Homecoming weekend with a morning match against the University of La Verne. The last time the Tigers and the Leopards faced off in September, the Tigers had the win and were seeking to maintain their streak.
Kellen Radtkey (Santa Barbara, CA) started the game off with a strong sprint to win possession for the Tigers. Oxy would continue to charge ahead and dominate the first period by claiming the first three goals of the game before La Verne would get up on the scoreboard. In the latter half of the first period, Jarrod Norton (Newbury Park, CA) stole the ball and scored after driving it down the pool. Shortly after, Joseph Cox (Fresno, CA) would find the net with the assist going to Tiger goalkeeper, Henry Grady (Willow Grove, PA). In the second period, Radtkey easily won the sprint, highlighting not only his speed, but also his endurance. Oxy continued to push their lead out ahead of La Verne. Wilson Noll (Ann Arbor, MI) and Norton would each score on a five meter penalty. The Leopards were able to reduce their deficit by two in the second period. Going into the half, the Tigers had a comfortable cushion at 11-3.
Starting off the second half, Nate Fisher (LaGrange, IL) claimed the ball for the Tigers. In that same charge to the cage, Fisher found the net with an assist from Shea Grosz (Lafayette, CA). The Leopards would quickly respond with a goal of their own, shot by Peter Trinh. Midway through the third period, there was a second exclusion on the Leopards goalie. However, the Leopards would expertly defend their cage while playing a goalie down and steal the ball to get out of that sticky situation. La Verne's Jason Shultenburg scored on a five meter, finding the lower right corner. Keegan Klein (Bellevue, WA) turned on the jets in the fourth to win the sprint, giving Oxy four sprint wins for the game. The Leopards' goalkeeper, Ryan Lehotsky, would come up big for his team with a block to the chest on Tate Miller's (San Anselmo, CA) five meter penalty shot. Cian Concannon (Mill Valley, CA) would be the final Tiger to score in the game, with the final goal going to the Leopards, but it would not be enough. Tigers win 17-6.
Oxy outshot La Verne 37 to 25. Overall, 10 Tigers scored and six earned assists. Oxy was led by Klien and Fisher, who each found the net three times. The Oxy scoring machine was powered by Grosz, who had six assists.
In the Tiger cage, Grady had a strong game. He had four saves, a save percentage of .400, three assists, and three steals.
Oxy Scoring:
Keegan Klien - 3
Nate Fisher - 3
Kellen Radtkey - 2
Jarrod Norton - 2
Christian Guillaume - 2
Aiden Cawley - 1
Joseph Cox - 1
Wilson Noll - 1
Jasper Lee - 1
Cian Concannon - 1
Oxy Assists:
Shea Grosz - 6
Henry Grady - 3
Kellen Radtkey - 2
Daniel Cruz - 1
Joseph Cox - 1
Aiden Cawley - 1
Next Game: The Tigers have another game today at 2:30 p.m. against the University of Westcliff.
