Stags Tame Leopards, Cruise to Big Victory
CLAREMONT, Calif. – On Wednesday night the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men's water polo team steamrolled the visiting La Verne Leopards 18-8 in Axelrood Pool. The Stags scored at least four goals in each period en route to the double-digit victory, extending their win streak to three games and pushing them to second in the SCIAC. CMS currently holds a 3-1 record in conference play and 6-7 overall.
Nine different Stags scored in the winning effort with Zack Rossman (CMC) leading the way with four tallies. Barron Banta (CMC) and Noah Deer (CMC) each collected three goals in the match and CJ Box (CMC) had a goal and three steals.
In goal, Ethan Lewis (CMC) collected nine saves and two steals.
The Leopards got off to a strong start in the first period, scoring two goals within the opening two minutes to take the early lead. Deer scored the Stags' first goal of the match with 5:56 left in the period and Peter Tilton (CMC) tied it up 50 seconds later. Tyler Bennett quickly took back the lead for La Verne with 2:49 left, but Rossman put the Stags ahead 4-3 with two unassisted goals to close the first period.
Leading 5-4 with 3:11 left in the second period, the Stags broke out for a 3-0 run sparked by an unassisted goal from Banta, followed by goals from Deer and Rossman. CMS led 8-4 to close the half.
In the third period, Nick Britt (CMC) continued where the Stags left off, scoring an unassisted goal with 5:24 remaining in the period. Rex Sample finally scored the Leopards' first goal of the second half off an assist from Rey Julian Castillo wtih 3:51 remaining. 20 seconds later, Mike Meza committed an exclusion foul near the net, awarding the Stags a penalty. Banta scored the 5-meter penalty to extend the Stags' lead 10-5. The Stags finished the third period with a 12-6 lead.
CMS opened the fourth period with a 4-0 run, sparked by an unassisted goal from Christian Thornton (CMC) with 6:41 left in the game. Banta followed less than 30 seconds later and Tilton earned his second of the night a half-minute after. After Jeremy Rocha of La Verne was marked with an exclusion with 4:06 left in the match, Graham Fullerton (CMC) took advantage of the powerplay in seconds, scoring his second goal of the night to extend the lead 16-7. The Leopards could not overcome the deficit as the Stags closed the game 18-8.
The Stags will host the Gary Troyer Tournament on Friday, opening their weekend with a match against Connecticut College at 1:00 p.m. followed by a 7:15 p.m. game against Johns Hopkins University.