Claremont, CA (October 22, 2012) – The Men’s Soccer and Men’s Water Polo teams picked up key wins this week to remain atop the SCIAC standings, while Women’s Soccer stayed in the hunt for a postseason bid as well heading into the final week of the regular season.
Men’s Soccer had a pair of narrow one-goal wins over Whittier (2-1 in double-overtime) and Occidental (1-0) to stretch its winning streak to eight games. The wins improve the Sagehens to 11-4-1 overall and 10-2-1 in the SCIAC, putting them essentially in a dead heat with Redlands (10-2-2) for first place in the SCIAC. Senior co-captain Erik Munzer ’13 and defensive midfielder Andrew Lind ’14 led a defense that gave up one goal in two games. The Sagehens face Redlands on Monday in a game that will give the winner the inside track for the regular season championship, before closing out the regular season at Caltech on Wednesday and home against La Verne on Saturday.
Women’s Soccer put itself in a position to control its own destiny for a SCIAC bid this week with a 1-0 road win over Whittier on Wednesday and a 0-0 tie with Occidental on Saturday. The Sagehens are in fifth place in the SCIAC, one game behind Redlands, but faces Redlands at home on Wednesday. A win in that contest would pull the Sagehens even with the Bulldogs and give them the tiebreaker for the fourth and final SCIAC playoff bid. Samantha Thompson ’15 scored a late goal in the 83rd minute to defeat Whittier, her fourth goal of the season, ranking her second on the team.
Men’s Water Polo remained undefeated in the SCIAC at 4-0 with an 11-7 home win over Redlands on Wednesday. Jason Cox ’13 had a big day with five goals, scoring three times to help the Sagehens jump out to an early 4-0 lead, and then adding two more goals in the third quarter immediately after Redlands closed the lead to one point. The team has a huge match on Wednesday at 4 p.m. at Haldeman Pool, taking on fellow SCIAC unbeaten Whittier (5-0) in a winner-take-all battle for first place, and then has road matches at UC San Diego and Caltech on Saturday.
The Football team played shorthanded due to several key injuries, but gave La Verne a strong fight on Saturday, before falling 34-24. The Leopards used a punt return and an interception return in the second half to keep the Sagehens from coming back. Michael Schwartz ’13 filled in for the injured Luke Sweeney (PO ’13) at running back and had a career-high 63 yards, while Matthew Tesimale ’16 had three tackles on defense. The Sagehens travel to Occidental this weekend in the annual Battle For The Drum.
Men’s Cross Country and Women’s Cross Country compete in the SCIAC Championships this weekend at Prado Park. Volleyball concludes its season with a home match against Chapman on Saturday at 6 p.m., while Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving teams get the winter season started at the Malibu Invitational, hosted by Pepperdine. Saturday will prove to be one of the busiest days of the year, with nine teams in action (all seven fall sports and both swimming and diving teams).
