Crucial SCIAC win over Redlands in 1-1 weekend
CLAREMONT, Calif. – The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men's water polo team went 1-1 on the weekend with an important win over Redlands (9-7) on Saturday morning. On Sunday, the Stags faced Air Force in a non-conference matchup and fell 9-5. In both games, junior Noah Deer (CMC) steadied the defense and put in almost half the team's goals.
The Stags got off to a slow start in the first quarter as Redlands put in three goals to CMS' one. Scoring initially was senior Ellison Taylor (CMC) at the halfway point of the period during a six-on-five.
Then, for the middle two quarters of the game, the CMS defense only allowed two goals. In those quarters, senior Rye Newman (CMC) recorded six saves as the Bulldogs were unsuccessful on five power plays. During that time, the offense stepped up as well. Deer recorded the tying goal just before halftime to even the score at 4-4. Once the Stags took the 6-5 lead at the end of the third quarter off a shot by sophomore Eric Thvedt (CMC), they maintained it for the remainder of the game.
The start of the fourth quarter showcased the duo of Taylor and freshman Ethan Lewis (CMC) as the two combined for three goals to put CMS up 9-5. Redlands battled back with two goals before the head coach called a timeout to set up one final play. The Stags' defense denied Redlands once again and came away with the 9-7 victory.
With the win, CMS improved to 5-1 in SCIAC in a tie for second place.
The next day, CMS faced the Air Force Falcons in a late season non-conference game. This was the final game of the regular season for Air Force, completing yet another trip to California.
After the hard fought battle from the day before, a few regular Stags rested up and new faces saw more time in the pool. Freshman Zack Rossman (CMC) and Deer each recorded a pair of goals while senior Alex Waggoner (CMC) notched one.
Deer leads the team in goals on the season with 52 and Waggoner sits right behind him at 43.
The shot count for each team was identical, but CMS returned at a much lower rate. While AF's goalie Max Benson had 13 saves, many of the Stags' shots were mistimed and off-target.
Newman had nine saves in the game and added one steal to the team's total of seven.
Next up for the Stags is the highly anticipated game against Pomona-Pitzer. This year, CMS plays host to the Sagehens on Wednesday, Nov. 9 at 7.pm. in Axelrood Pool.
By Emily Nordhoff
Sports Information Director
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