Feathers and fur were flying on Wednesday, Oct. 23 at Haldeman Pool as the Pomona-Pitzer (P-P) men’s water polo team toughed out a 17-12 win against the La Verne Leopards in a tense back-and-forth contest. Their conference record is now 5-1 and 11-9 overall, placing them at No. 2 in this week’s Division III men’s water polo rankings.
P-P came into the game riding a two-game winning streak, having won five out of six SCIAC matchups thus far. The Leopards had also faced six SCIAC opponents, winning two games and losing the other four.
According to Logan Colman PZ ’28, the Sagehens entered the matchup with a few specific goals in mind.
“[We wanted to] play good defense, limit the counter goals that La Verne would score on us, and just push the counter and try to get their best players ejected out of the game,” Colman said.
Though the Sagehens drew two ejections across the first two quarters, they managed to keep the game close with no team taking more than a one-point lead at a time.
Colman, Conrad Hugar PO ’26 and Darragh Flanders PO ’28 each contributed one goal to maintain a 3–3 tie at the end of the first quarter.
The second matched the intensity of the first as both teams hunted for the lead. Goals by Zach Whitfield PO ’27, Max Distaso PO ’27 and Miles Chiang PO ’27 kept the Sagehens neck-and-neck with the Leopards, and P-P ended the half with six goals to the Leopards’ seven.
Strong defensive efforts in the first half kept the Sagehens in the game, as the Leopards converted six powerplay opportunities into just two goals. On the other side of the pool, P-P was able to convert one of two six-on-five opportunities, keeping them on the scoreboard and within range of a lead.
The Sagehens came out strong in the third quarter, as Hugar scored back-to-back goals in the first two possessions. The Leopards responded with four more goals but efforts from Hugar, Colman, Flanders and Jack Ryan PZ ’25 put the Sagehens up 12–11 with eight minutes left to play.
Three goals in the first two minutes of the fourth quarter bumped the Sagehens’ lead to 15–11, the first time either team had more than a one-goal advantage the whole game. From there, the Sagehens ran away with the lead, only allowing one more goal from the Leopards and scoring two more for a 17–12 victory.
According to Hugar, the Sagehens’ fourth-quarter performance was crucial to winning the game.
“Once we started to rely on our own counterattack, it was a lot better,” Hugar said. “I think we just started counterattacking a little bit more, tried to lock in a little more on defense and stop them from getting too many easy shots from the post and up top.”
Indigo Lee PO ’27 spoke on how close games like this one prepare the Sagehens for their approaching rivalry match against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (CMS).
“You know, [CMS] has some talent … But I think overall, our team has been working really well together,” Lee said. “We have this nice little adhesive going. We should be able to take them down.”
The Sagehens will be back in action Oct. 25 through 27 in Santa Clara for the Julian Frasier Tournament, where they will compete against teams from across the state. Their next game in Claremont will be their first Sixth Street game of the season, taking place Wednesday, Oct. 30 at Axelrood Aquatics Center. P-P is seeking revenge for this game as they lost their last matchup against CMS in 2023, which broke their seven-game win streak against the Stags that began in 2021.
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