(CLAREMONT, Calif., Oct. 7) – The McKendree University men's water polo team earned its first west coast victory on Saturday against CalTech by a score of 17-10. The Bearcats fell to Pomona-Pitzer in their second contest of the day by a final score of 20-8.
 
GAME ONE
McKendree opened the day with a morning contest against CalTech starting at 8 a.m. The Beavers received votes to be in the Top 10 in Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Men's Varsity Division III. The Bearcats struck first in the contest on a shot by sophomore attacker Izaya Owotor (Portland, OR/David Douglas High School). The Beavers answered quickly with a goal of their own. Sophomore attacker Luc Gregory (Laguna Beach, CA/Laguna Beach High School) found the back of the net next, to give McKendree the 2-1 lead. Sophomore attacker Robert Esson (Huntington Beach, CA/Huntington Beach High School) scored a man up goal to extend the Bearcats lead. CalTech responded with a goal of its own, but freshman utility player Sean Legg (Ottawa, Ontario) beat the Beavers goalie twice to give the Bearcats the 5-2 advantage. CalTech went on to score twice more before the end of the quarter, as Esson found his second of the quarter giving McKendree a 6-4 lead heading into quarter number two.
 
The Bearcats came out strong in the second quarter scoring four goals and holding the Beavers off the board. Goal scorers for McKendree in the second quarter were Gregory, Esson, and sophomore attacker Joseph Mahan (Corinth, TX/John H Guyer High School) with two. The Bearcats held a 10-4 lead at half time.
 
CalTech poured it on the Bearcats after half time scoring three unanswered goals, but McKendree responded back with three unanswered goals of its own. Mahan netted two more goals and Gregory added one before the Beavers could answer. CalTech added two more goals before the close of the third quarter, and Esson added one of his own to help McKendree maintain a 14-9 lead.
 
The Bearcats continued to assault the CalTech goal in the fourth quarter with sophomore attacker Daniel Peralta (Lakewood, CA/Lakewood High School) firing a shot that beat the Beavers net minder. Freshman center Abraham Allen (Webster Groves, MO) scored next for the Bearcats to extend the lead to seven. The Beavers struck back with a goal of their own, but Esson closed out the game with a goal with 24 seconds remaining to give McKendree the 17-10 victory.
 
Freshman goalie Ori Scanlon (Orlando, FL) guarded the cage, making 16 saves in the game. Mahan netted four goals and added five assists in the game, and Esson found the back of the net for five goals on six shots.
 
GAME TWO
McKendree's second game of the day came against, host, Pomona-Pitzer at 2:15 p.m. The Sage Hens are tied for the No. 1 ranking in CWPA men's Varsity Division III Top 10 and have a ranking of No. 19 in CWPA Men's Varsity Top 20.
 
Pomona-Pitzer scored first in the game, but Legg had a response to even the score at 1-1. McKendree took a 2-1 lead into the second quarter after sophomore attacker Jackson Smith (McHenry, IL/McHenry West High School) found the back of the net with 42 seconds left in the first quarter. The Sage Hens showed why they possessed the No. 1 ranking in the second quarter, scoring 9 unanswered goals while holding the Bearcats off the board. At halftime Pomona-Pitzer held a 10-2 lead.
 
McKendree was able to find the back of the net again in the third quarter, on a strike from Allen. Pomona-Pitzer responded to grab the 11-3 lead. The Bearcats had a response, scoring twice with tallies from Legg and Gregory. The Sage Hens responded with a goal, but the Bearcats received a power play marker from Gregory. Pomona-Pitzer answered with two goals of their own to take a 14-6 lead into the final quarter of play.
 
The Sage Hens opened the quarter with two goals, before Legg responded with a goal of his own. Pomona-Pitzer netted a goal, but McKendree added one more from the arm of Mahan. The Sage Hens went on to score three more and take the 20-8 victory over the Bearcats.
 
Sophomore goaltenders Anthony Murat (Chicago, IL/Buffalo Grove High School) and Marko Vucetic (Belgrade, Serbia/Redstar Academy) split time in goal, making 12 saves in the contest. Legg netted three goals on five shots and Gregory notched two goals on as many shots.
 
McKendree is back in action at the CWPA Division II Championships at Gannon University on October 14 and 15.