CLAREMONT, Calif. -
Len Korol scored four goals and
Luke (Bear) Weigle and
Auggie Aliaga each had three as the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men's water polo team defeated Fresno Pacific 20-3 in the second of two games at the Inland Empire Classic on Saturday at Axelrood Pool.
CMS also battled No. 12 UC Santa Barbara to a tight contest in its first game of the day, falling 12-9 after leading 6-4 at halftime. The Stags are now 2-4 on the season, with all four losses coming to teams ranked in the top 12 in the nation (two to UCSB, and one to California and UC Irvine).
Korol had the first two goals for the Stags, the second of which made the score 2-1 with 4:35 left in the first quarter, and started a 15-0 run that didn't end until 4:20 left in the game.
Gavin Netherton and Aliaga closed out the first quarter with goals to make the score 4-1, and Korol started the second quarter with his third goal of the contest.
Cristian Pang and Weigle scored goals, and Aliaga scored two in a row, the second on a penalty shot, to complete a first half had trick.
Ivey Gehring closed out the half with a goal on a pretty backhand pass from Stryker scales to give CMS a 10-1 lead heading into halftime.
Luke Leonard finished with two goals and two assists, and
Donovan Davidson added two goals and an assist for the Stags.
Jake Taylor had five first-half saves, and
Chase Campbell came on and made six saves in the second half in his first collegiate appearance. CMS had 23 steals as a team, with Leonard leading the way with four.
In the opening game of the day, Korol scored twice in the second quarter, and Pang scored 18 seconds before halftime to give CMS a 6-4 lead heading into halftime. UC Santa Barbara started the second half on a 3-0 run to take the lead, but
Nick Kennedy and Leonard each scored goals to tie the score 8-8.
The Gauchos took a 9-8 lead heading into the fourth and then pushed it out to 12-8 before Leonard capped off the scoring with his second. Taylor finished with 12 saves for the Stags in the loss.
CMS will be back in action on Sunday when it takes on Ottawa (Arizona) at 8 a.m. and then closes out the tournament with a 3:30 game against California Baptist.
