CMS Men's Water Polo Takes Another Big Road Win, Defeats Chapman 11-6

ORANGE, Calif. - The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men's water polo team, ranked No. 2 in Division III, used a 5-0 run spanning both halves to take control and earn an 11-6 road win over No. 6 Chapman on Saturday morning at Allred Aquatic Center.

With the win, CMS improves to 10-8 on the year and 5-1 in the SCIAC, winning its third straight league game on the road after winning at Pomona-Pitzer and Occidental last week. Chapman slips to 3-4 in league play with the loss. 

CMS led just 3-2 early in the second quarter after Chapman scored with 5:52 left in the half, but the Stags scored the final two goals of the second and the first three goals of the third to take control. Junior Christian Thornton started the run with a goal with 4:24 left, and sophomore Eric Warmoth added a goal on the power play with 1:56 to go to make it a 5-2 CMS lead heading into the break. 

The momentum carried over after intermission, as first-year Kyle Ballack found the net with 5:25 left in the third, and senior Ethan Lewis scored 35 seconds later to give CMS its seventh different goal scorer for its first seven goals. Lewis became the first Stag to score twice when he found the net with 3:52 to go in the third, before Chapman ended the drought on a goal from Evan Belli with 2:21 showing on the third-quarter clock. 

First-year Ben Weldon answered right back for CMS just over a minute later to stretch the lead back up to six at 9-3, which is where it stood heading in the fourth. Lewis made it a hat trick on the first possession of the final stanza to push the lead to 10-3, and CMS wasn't threatened down the stretch. Ballack added his second goal in the fourth quarter, while Chapman scored three times to make the final score a little closer. 

Sophomores Will Clark and Andrew Wraith added first-period goals for the Stags, along with junior Nick Britt to stake CMS to a 3-1 lead. Sophomore goalie Noah Smith had a strong game in net, making seven saves through three periods and allowing only three goals. 

After the three-game road sweep, CMS will be back in action at home on Wednesday when it meets Cal Lutheran for a 4 p.m. meeting at Axelrood Pool.