Posted: Oct 22, 2010

Men's Waterpolo Triumphs Over Tigers

The heavy downpour Wednesday evening set the scene for the Mens' Water Polo Team (9-8, 1-1 SCIAC) when they entered Occidental College's Taylor Pool. The Stags came in ready to take on the Tigers of Eagle Rock (5-15, 1-1 SCIAC), who, just four days earlier, upset #4 ranked Whittier College. However, Oxy proved to be no match for CMS, as the Stags dominated the entire game, finishing with a score of 19-9 in a crucial SCIAC matchup.

CMS came out strong, starting with Vincent Schiavoni (JR, Malvern, PA) winning the opening sprint. Attacking the shallow end first, the Stags were unsure how to manage their offense in a new, unchartered territory. However, they were able to defeat Oxy at their own game. Late in the shot clock of the first possession, Brian Baier (SO, Orinda) [pictured] elevated up with the ball and rattled the aluminum side bar, knocking in the first goal of his flawless hat-trick in the opening period.

From then on, the Stags never looked back, as they went up on the home team 4-1 before forcing the Occidental head coach to call a desperation time out. The Stags, however, outsmarted Oxy's newly devised game plan throughout the rest of the game and continued their strong scoring streak until the final buzzer.

Baier went on to score three more for a game-high total of six goals, while seven other Stags contributed to the well-rounded offense. Brian Chong (JR, Mercer Island, WA) had four, Schiavoni scored three, Andrew Cosentino (SR, Greenwich, CT) punched in two, and Ari Wes (JR, Mercer Island WA), Greg Mann (SO, Hillsborough), John Holland (FR, Orinda) and Huston Middlesworth (SO, Bellevue, WA) all got on the board with one apiece. Middlesworth led the team with four assists, while goalie Sean Wasserman (SR, Los Gatos) had ten saves.

The Stags return home to Axelrood Pool at 10:00 am Saturday, October 23, as they take on defending Division III Champions Whittier College (10-11, 1-1 SCIAC) in another important conference battle.