Nettekoven (16 Saves), Weigle (5 Goals) Lead CMS Men's Water Polo Past Cal Lutheran

CLAREMONT, Calif. - Aidan Nettekoven had 16 saves, and Luke (Bear) Weigle had five goals as the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men's water polo team picked up a key 10-6 win over Cal Lutheran on Wednesday afternoon at Axelrood Pool.

With the win, CMS improves to 9-10 overall and 4-1 in the SCIAC, building on the momentum from a comeback 14-13 win over Whittier on Saturday and staying near the top of the SCIAC standings, while Cal Lutheran slips to 2-2 in league play and 7-12 overall. 

CMS led the whole way after Weigle scored the game's first goal 1:36 into the contest to start a 3-0 run, but had to withstand several Cal Lutheran comeback efforts. The Kingsmen cut it to one goal three times, including 7-6 with 4:45 left in the third, but that would turn out to be their only goal of the entire second half. 

Each team scored only once in the third, as a 6-5 CMS lead at the half turned into a 7-6 lead after three, but the Stags were able to click on offense on the fourth, scoring three times, while shutting down Cal Lutheran over the entire eight minutes. Cristian Pang gave CMS a two-goal lead with 6:07 to go, Weigle followed with his fifth with 4:47 to play, and Ballack capped off the scoring with 19 seconds left with his second. 

The Stags jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first when Gavin Rosser and Thomas Walker followed up the first Weigle goal with two more. Ballack answered a Cal Lutheran goal to make it a 4-1 game after the first quarter, but the Kingsmen were able to close to within 6-5 at the half, despite two Weigle goals in the second quarter. 

Nettekoven added three steals to go with his 16 saves, as he got the win in goal, nearly matching his total of 17 saves last Wednesday against La Verne. William Thomas also had three steals and added two assists, while Walker had a goal and two assists. Weigle scored on all five of his shot attempts, and also drew two exclusions. 

CMS will be back in action on Saturday when it hosts Chapman for an 11 a.m. contest at Axelrood Pool.