LOS ANGELES — Occidental men's water polo earned the first two victories of the 2026 season with home wins over Mt. San Antonio and Grossmont on Saturday. The Tigers defeated Mt. San Antonio 21-17 in the first game and Grossmont 14-6 in the second game.
In game one of the day, Occidental and Mt. San Antonio each took 36 shots, with Occidental scoring four power-play goals and four penalty-shot goals. Occidental started the scoring with Zane Derrod's goal assisted by Lars Schubert at 7:34 of the first quarter, but Mt. San Antonio repeatedly answered during a high-scoring first quarter.
Joey Gutierrez and Nicholas Karamian kept Occidental moving by scoring goals, and then Max Sauers scored with 3:06 left in the 1st period before Derrod capitalized with a penalty goal at 2:45.
In the second quarter, Occidental answered a Mt. San Antonio power-play goal with goals from Alexanians and Derrod, and then put together four consecutive goals with one from Karamian, two from Miles McDaniel and then another from Karamian on a penalty. Mt. San Antonio responded by scoring three in a row late before Schubert's power-play goal with :07 left closed the half for Occidental.
The teams continued to trade scoring in the third quarter, when Occidental got penalty goals from Alexanians and Kevin Castellanos, before Danny Miller scored a power-play goal atwith 38 seconds left in the 3rd.
Atticus Wahab-Holles scored twice early in the fourth quarter, but Mt. San Antonio followed with three straight goals in an attempt to mount a comeback, but ultimately Occidental finished with a 21-17 win over the Mounties.
Zane Derrod scored four goals on five shots and added an assist. Karamian finished with four goals on four shots, an assist and a steal. Alexanians scored three times on three shots. Tyler Leung recorded seven saves in goal.
In the second game of the doubleheader, Occidental opened with a 6-0 first quarter and finished with a 42-25 advantage in shots.
The Tigers scored nine consecutive goals to start the game, beginning with three by Danny Miller in the first quarter. Nicholas Karamian converted a penalty shot at 2:48, and Occidental added goals from Max Sauers, Jake Eulenhoefer, Patrick Gardner, Andre Milasincic and Atticus Wahab-Holles before Grossmont scored with 4:25 remaining in the second.
Tait Landswick answered with a goal of his own, while Grossmont added two more second-quarter goals before Wahab-Holles opened the third-quarter with a goal. Grossmont scored twice in the third, but Occidental closed the third quarter with goals from Sebastian Brine and Miller. After Grossmont scored just into the fourth period, Occidental put together four straight goals from Lars Schubert, Milasincic and Miles McDaniel before Dominic Lopez closed the scoring with just under a minute left in the game, and Occidental finished with 18 goals on 42 shots while Grossmont had seven goals on 25 shots.
Danny Miller scored four goals on five shots for Occidental. Schubert finished with one goal, three assists and a steal. Wahab-Holles added two goals, one assist, one steal and two exclusions drawn. Tyler Leung posted five saves in goal.
The Tigers will be back in action when they travel to the Air Force Invite in Colorado Springs, CO from 9/25-9/27.
