CLAREMONT, CA. – The Pomona-Pitzer Women's Water Polo team split a home/away doubleheader after they fell to No. 11 Princeton 15-11 and returned for a 17-6 win over SCIAC opponent Whittier.
Season Impact: with the split, the Sagehens move to 11-10 on the year.
Pomona-Pitzer 11, Princeton 15
The Sagehens were led by Namlhun Jachung who scored a hat-trick with three goals in the loss. Alexandra Szczerba scored two while Abigail Wiesenthal, Ayva Magna, Gabby Lewis, Mia Amberger, Brienz Lang, and Lauren Smith all had one.
Szczerba netted the first goal of the game for the Sagehens to play from in front until Princeton scored to even the game at 1-1. The Sagehens stayed on top for most of the first quarter after Amberger put them up 2-1 and Jachung scored off of a powerplay to make it 3-1 with 1:32 to play in the first. The Tigers got their offense going towards the end of the first with the final two goals of the quarter to tie the game at 3-3 heading into the second.
Princeton kept its momentum into the second, scored the first two goals to make it four-straight, and took their first lead of the game at 5-3. The Sagehens started to take advantage of the Princeton exclusions and scored three-straight goals to end the half with a five-meter from Lang, a lob from Jachung, and a powerplay goal from Szczerba to hold a 6-5 lead at halftime.
The Tigers had a big start to the second half after they came out of halftime and put up three consecutive goals to take an 8-6 lead until the Sagehens fired back with back-to-back goals from Jachung and Smith to tie the game at 8-8.
Princeton ended the third with a goal and started to pull away in the fourth after they opened up with three more to take their largest lead so far at 13-8 with just over five minutes to play. Wisenthal answered for Pomona-Pitzer, but the Tiger added two more and took a 15-9 lead late in the fourth. Pomona-Pitzer scored two goals late from Lewis and Magna but ran out of time to mount a comeback as they fell to the Tigers at home.
Pomona-Pitzer 17, Whittier 6
The Sagehens were led by Ayva Magna and Brienz Lang who each shared a game-high three goals in the win. Wiesenthal, Szczerba, Jachung and Amberger all netted two goals while Sydney Bianchi, Lulu Gaither and Lauren Smith had one.
The Sagehens scored the first goal of the game, but the Poets took an early lead with two straight to take a 2-1 advantage in the first. The Whittier lead was short-lived as Lang and Amberger netted goals to put the Sagehens up 3-2 and Jachung with her first at the end of the first to go up 4-2 heading into the second quarter.
Szczerba made it four straight goals for the Sagehens until Whittier answered with their third of the night to make it 5-3. The Sagehens went on to outscore the Poets 4-1 in the second and after goals from Lang, Amberger, and Wiesenthal held an 8-3 lead at halftime.
Magna and Lang kept firing in the second half and got the lead up to 11-3 early in the third. Smith and Wiesenthal added to the scoresheet in the third with the Sagehens up 10 heading into the fourth.
Whittier had its best scoring quarter of the game in the fourth, but the Sagehens still outscored Whittier 4-3. Jachung and Szczerba netted goals to give the Sagehens their largest lead of the night at 15-3 while Magna and Bianchi scored late as the Sagehens left Slade Aquatics Center with the road victory.
Up Next: The Sagehens will next host Occidental and Cal State Fullerton on Saturday, March 18th.
