CLAREMONT, Calif. — The Connecticut College men’s water polo team concluded play at the Gary Troyer Tournament hosted by Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges and Pomona-Pitzer Colleges by edging Occidental College, 11-9, before dropping a 15-10 decision to Division III No. 10-ranked the California Institute of Technology later in the day.
Against Occidental, Stephan Cress (Rockford, Mich.) opened the scoring by netting a goal with 7:09 on the clock and the Camels never trailed in their third contest of the weekend. Occidental rallied and took a 7-4 lead heading into the break, but Connecticut College stormed back by most notably scoring five goals in the third quarter. Cress then broke a 9-9 deadlock with a pair of goals down the stretch to give the Camels their third win of the season.
Connecticut College used the momentum from earlier in the day during the beginning stages of its second contest against Cal Tech by netting the first two markers. Senior Dylan Pinckert (Long Beach, Calif.) extended the Camel advantage to 4-1 with 2:58 remaining in the first, but the opponent struck back and was able to score a last-second goal to take a 6-5 lead after the opening period. Connecticut College was never able to regain the lead and eventually settled for the five-goal defeat.
Cress led the way for the Camels by tallying a combined seven goals, including five against Occidental. Pinckert found the back of the net four times, while senior netminder Matthew Wagman (Atlanta, Ga.) turned away six shots in each match.
Release courtesy Connecticut College Athletics Communications
