Glendora, CA (Men’s Water Polo) – After sputtering out of the gate, the Citrus College men’s water polo team, got their legs underneath them as they opened up conference play with a 14-6 win over Santa Monica College on Wednesday afternoon. Brad Beintema was the catalyst for the Owl’s with six goals in the victory.
The Fighting Owl’s were taken off guard to begin the game, with SMC’s Alex Donner getting the Corsair’s on the board first, but the Owl’s quickly battled back scoring four straight points to take an early 4-1 lead in the 1st quarter.
In the 2nd quarter Citrus continued to pull away, outscoring the Corsair’s 4-2, thanks in large part to Bryce Mordoff who recorded three of his five assists in the 2nd period. The Owl’s would end up taking a comfortable 8-3 lead into the half after closing out the 1st half with a Brandon Rivas goal with 58 seconds left on the clock.
In the 3rd quarter Santa Monica went toe to toe with Citrus, as they scored the first two goals of the new half. The Owl’s answered back however, with three straight goals, two out of the hands of Beintsma. Citrus would end up out-scoring Santa Monica 4-3, taking a 12-6 lead into the final period. The Fighting Owl’s put things away in the 4th quarter shutting-out the Corsair’s in the final frame, while scoring two goals of their own.
Beside Beintema, Citrus was led by Justin Coy, who added three goals, and an assist, in the Fighting Owl win. Mordoff also had two goals to go along with his five assists. Tony Pearson was tough in goal, recording eight saves against only six goals allowed.
With the win Citrus improves to 3-7 on the year, and 1-0 in WSC play. The Fighting Owl’s will be at home this weekend as they play host to a mini-tournament being held at the Citrus College Aquatics Center. Games will begin at 9:00 AM.
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