As first-years, the Pomona-Pitzer women’s water polo class of 2018 fell 7-6 in the SCIAC championship game, losing in a heartbreaker to Whittier College.
They would win 19 conference matches and lose only three in the following two seasons — but two of the three total losses were at the hands of Whittier.
This year, the now-senior Sagehens are out for revenge.
With six wins and zero losses in 2018 heading into Saturday’s home game at Haldeman Pool, the team will play not only to protect its undefeated season, but to avenge its three losses to the Poets over the past four years.
“With Whittier coming up, we expect to win,” Morgan Stockham PZ ’19 said.
In their most recent meeting Feb. 28, the Sagehens walked away with a 20-7 victory, bolstered by a combined 15 saves from goalies Stockham and Haley Crabtree PZ ’21.
“We have been surprised by our goalie play,” head coach Alex Rodriguez said. “[Stockham] and [Crabtree] have been stellar in the goal.”
“Whittier has been our rival for the last few seasons, so it feels good to be at a level where we can get in the game, put in effort, and leave knowing that we beat them by 13 goals [two weeks ago],” Stockham said.
On top of the solid defensive work in goal, senior Jocelyn Castro PZ ’21 has already posted three hat tricks this season, and put up two goals in Wednesday’s 9-4 win over California Lutheran University (15-6, 7-1 SCIAC)
The Regals were arguably the Sagehens’ biggest threat in their quest for an elusive undefeated season, as the loss was Cal Lutheran’s first. Pomona-Pitzer led 4-2 heading into the fourth period, then posted an additional five goals to the opposition’s two, ending the chance of any other SCIAC team going undefeated.
The graduating seniors already have a 40-4 in-conference record thus far, but a win over the Poets Saturday would certainly serve poetic justice on behalf of their freshman selves.