In the final match of Sixth Street rivalry week, the Sagehens men’s water polo team rallied from behind to complete a 10-9 victory over the Stags. Hosted by Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (CMS) at Axelrod Aquatics Center, Wednesday’s matchup featured the first- and third-ranked teams nationally, with the “underdog” Sagehens taking the victory against the No. 1 seeded Stags.
The Sagehens took a 4-3 lead into halftime, but after the break they had no answer for reigning ACWPC Division III National Player of the Year Nick Kennedy CM ’27, who scored all five of his goals in the second half. It was his fourth that put CMS up 8-4 with just six and a half minutes to play.
Yet, after Kennedy’s scoring barrage, the Sagehens took back momentum, battling to win in the final second off a goal from All-American center Darragh Flanders PO ’28. Flanders, who scored three goals all in the last five minutes of the game, showed love for the fans after he tied the score, shooting an imaginary arrow into the crowd.
“The crowd is where I thrive,” Flanders said. “Especially coming back [in] a game that’s really important to us. It means a lot that we’re having a big crowd showing up to our games.”
“The crowd is where I thrive,” Flanders said. “Especially coming back [in] a game that’s really important to us. It means a lot that we’re having a big crowd showing up to our games.”
For the Sagehens, this game meant more than even the typical Sixth Street game might. The last time these two met was in the national championship, where CMS won 9-4 to secure their second title in three years. That result, combined with typical Sixth-Street fervor, added to P-P’s celebration of the victory.
“We did lose to them in the DIII finals last year,” Sagehen head coach Alex Rodriguez said. “I think some guys got some demons off their backs with the win. No matter if they’re the worst team or the best team, and we’re the worst team or best team, it’s always a competitive game … I tell the guys how lucky they are to have this rivalry.”
The Stags, reeling from the Sagehen comeback, look to move forward and take care of business across the rest of their SCIAC schedule. Head coach Greg Lonzo emphasized that while this one hurt to lose, it is just one of many games to be played as the team looks to defend their title.
“We still got 10 league games to go,” Lonzo said. “At the end of the day, this is just one of 12, and ultimately, we come back and win the rest of the 10, we’re in the spot we need to be in anyway. It’s just about refocusing and washing it away and moving on to the next.”
Flanders’s game winner came with 21 seconds on the clock out of a Rodriguez timeout. Trusting his players to make the most of the situation, Rodriguez called a similar play to the one Flanders had scored on previously, though the play was designed to come from the outside. As the ball moved around, it once again found its way to the center as it had all of the fourth quarter.
“The play wasn’t really designed for me, but as soon as we knew that the play was kind of breaking down, I was just making sure that I was getting open for all my teammates,” Flanders said. “I saw [Miles Chiang PO ’27] get the ball. [Chiang] and I have a lot of chemistry, so I picked my head up. I said with my hands for Miles to give me the ball. He gave me a great pass, and I did the best I could with it.”
Coaches and players alike emphasized that the 2026 iteration of this rivalry is far from over. With more to come, both teams must turn to improving themselves for the next matchup.
“We get to play them one more time in conference, potentially [the SCIAC] tournament, and potentially a second [national] tournament,” Lonzo said. “So it’s just about getting ourselves right, making sure we’re making good choices, staying connected defensively.”
The Sagehens and Stags now both turn their attention to the Gary Troyer tournament, which they co-host with the University of La Verne. Rodriguez noted that P-P will use the tournaments to fundraise for the women’s water polo team’s winter international trip through food trucks and other vendors. The two teams will meet again Nov. 4 at P-P’s Haldeman Pool.
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