California Lutheran University's Student Newspaper Since 1961

The Echo

California Lutheran University's Student Newspaper Since 1961

The Echo

California Lutheran University's Student Newspaper Since 1961

The Echo

    Kingsmen have room for improvement

    Kingsmen Water Polo

    After a non-conference victory against Valley College, the Kingsmen Water Polo team dropped its first SCIAC match against Chapman

    waterpolo3The California Lutheran University menโ€™s water polo team defeated LA Valley College 20-19 on Oct. 15. However, this success did not transfer to their first Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game on Oct. 18, in which they lost to Chapman 10-9.

    โ€œWeโ€™ve got to make sure we donโ€™t give up 19 goals a game so defense is going to be our focus today and tomorrow,โ€ coach and Associate Aquatics Director Craig Rond said after Wednesdayโ€™s game. โ€œWe have a really good Chapman team coming on Saturday that weโ€™ll have to have better defense.โ€

    Despite their loss, the water polo team has already made great strides with some of their goals. Previously, the team had given up 19 goals, but with Chapman they reduced that number to 10, a large improvement for the teamโ€™s defense.

    waterpolo2colorIn the two games, senior goalie Jesse Owen carried the team through with his numerous saves. For Wednesdayโ€™s game, Owen played the entire 32 minutes and made 14 saves, half of those made in the third period alone. He carried this strong defense into the Saturday game, saving 10 shots from Chapman.

    โ€œOur goalie did awesome. Jesse is our backbone and he carries the team every time,โ€ senior utility player and defender Zach Graper said.

    Graper was able to score Wednesdayโ€™s winning goal and match a Cal Lutheran single-game record with eight total goals in the game according to CLUsports.com. In Saturdayโ€™s game, Graper continued as the highest scoring player with three goals for the game.

    โ€œWeโ€™ve had a hard time when we go down by a couple [goals] or even holding leads. We have a hard time staying focused and in control of what we can control and I thought we did that today,โ€ Rond said on Wednesday.

    The opposing teams were never ahead or behind by more than two goals in both games.

    Physical play: (Left) Senior attacker Nathan Ortega looks to put a shot past the goalie. (Right) Sophomore utility Camron Hauer, who scored one of Cal Lutheranโ€™s 20 goals against Valley College, finds an open teammate. (Bottom) Sophomore attacker Tyler Graper fends off his defender and calls for the ball. Photos by Tina Abbaszadehw - Staff Photographer
    Physical play: (Left) Senior attacker Nathan Ortega looks to put a shot past the goalie. (Right) Sophomore utility Camron Hauer, who scored one of Cal Lutheranโ€™s 20 goals against Valley College, finds an open teammate. (Bottom) Sophomore attacker Tyler Graper fends off his defender and calls for the ball.
    Photos by Tina Abbaszadehw – Staff Photographer

    In Wednesdayโ€™s game, the Kingsmen were able to keep it close and gain the upper hand but Saturdayโ€™s game was less successful.

    After Chapmanโ€™s 10th goal, possession of the ball went back and forth five times but Cal Lutheran was unable to turn their possessions into goals.

    โ€œWe can definitely improve on keeping the lead, keeping the game consistent,โ€ senior center Asante Sefa-Boakye said.

    The water polo team had a strong fan base for both games in addition to their support from other teammates. Wednesdayโ€™s game had a good crowd, filling the bleachers with some overflow. The crowd had several fans sporting purple shirts in addition to athletes from other Cal Lutheran sport teams. Even people swimming at the community pool stood by the fence to view the game.

    Saturday drew an even bigger crowd to support the menโ€™s water polo team.

    โ€œEven though weโ€™re not going to have our fans in the away games, we still have so much support coming from the bench,โ€ Sefa-Boakye said.

    Through Wednesdayโ€™s game, the team was very vocal with their support. Though they will miss the fan support on away games, they have plenty of spirit to encourage each other.

    The menโ€™s water polo team will play its second SCIAC game at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on Oct. 22 and its next home game will be Oct. 29 against Caltech.

     

    Allie Leslie

    Staff Writer

    Published October 22, 2014