CMS Men's Water Polo Falls 5-3 in Division III National Championship Match

WHITTIER, Calif. - The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men's water polo team held top-seeded Whittier without a goal for the entire second half, but couldn't overcome a 5-2 deficit at intermission as the Stags fell 5-3 to the Poets in the inaugural USA Water Polo Division III National Championship match on Sunday afternoon at the Slade Aquatic Center.

The loss ends the season for the Stags with an 18-12 overall record, after reaching the finals of both the SCIAC Tournament and the USA Water Polo Tournament, falling to the Poets both times. The SCIAC finals was a high-scoring 13-12 defeat, while both teams turned up the defense in the Division III Championship, with eight combined goals easily representing the lowest-scoring game the Stags played in all year (passing a 7-4 win over Fresno Pacific). A 4-0 second quarter for the Poets, with three goals coming on the power play, proved to be the difference. 

Seniors Ethan Lewis and Zack Rossman were named to the All-Tournament team for the Stags, while Whittier goalie Murat Ersoz was named the MVP after allowing only three goals in the championship match while making 15 saves.

Sophomore goalie Noah Smith also had a big day in the cage for CMS with 13 saves, giving him 28 in the two games over the weekend, including 15 in yesterday's semifinal win over Johns Hopkins. Nine of those saves came in the first half to keep the score close, while the Stags defense locked in as a team in the second half, allowing the Poets only four shots on frame in the entire 16 minutes, all of which Smith handled. 

Unfortunately for CMS, they were only able to beat Ersoz one time in the second half, which came on the first possession of the fourth quarter as sophomore Will Clark scored on a 6-on-5 opportunity to pull the Stags within two. CMS tried to capitalize on the momentum as junior Nick Britt and Rossman had steals on the next two Whittier possessions, but CMS had one shot blocked by the defense and another saved by Ersoz. After the post denied junior Christian Thornton and Rossman missed just wide with a blind sweep shot, Ersoz made two more saves to seal the win for Whittier. 

After the Poets opened the match by winning the first-quarter sprint and scoring quickly on a goal from Micah Kamai to make it 1-0, CMS closed out the first quarter with two straight goals to take a 2-1 lead. Junior Koss Klobucher found the net with 5:22 left in the first off a feed from Clark, and junior CJ Box maneuvered in front of the cage to score with 3:51 in the first to give the Stags the lead. 

CMS missed a few chances to extend its lead, including two extra-man opportunities. The Stags were whistled for an exclusion with one second left in the first, and the Poets won a jump ball after the second-quarter sprint resulted in a stalemate, calling a timeout to set up the 6-on-5 and scoring off the right arm of SCIAC Player of the Year Dominick Nevarez. 

Another extra-man goal, this one from Maxwell Murphy, with 5:29 in the second gave Whittier the lead for good. The Poets added two more goals a minute apart, with Eric Borunda scoring at the 2:38 mark of the second quarter and Carlos Heredia Viteri adding an extra-man goal with 1:33 left to make the score 5-2, which turned out to be the final goal of the match for Whittier, but it was enough with the play of Ersoz in goal.

CMS ends the year 18-12 and graduates three seniors, including Rossman, Ethan Lewis and Harrison Miller. The Stags will try to get back to the Division III national championship stage next year with 10 of their top 12 scorers returning, led by Clark, who finished the year with 98 points (46 goals, 52 assists). Eight other players also return who scored in double figures in goals this season, including Thornton (38), Britt (23) and Box (22) with more than 20.