Owls Struggle Late Against Top NCAA DIII School in Country

Whittier, CA - The Citrus College Men's Water Polo team headed down the 605 freeway on Tuesday evening to take on the top NCAA DIII Men's Water Polo program in the country when they took on Whittier College. The Poets, who were just outside the NCAA Top 20 which ranks all water polo programs from all NCAA levels, actually trailed Citrus at the break 7-6, but turned up the heat on Citrus in the second half as the Owls lost 16-11.

Whittier came out strong against Citrus, scoring four of the first six goals of the game to take a 4-2 lead into the second quarter. The Owls rallied in the second though, getting four goals from freshman Jonathan Wong and another from sophomore Daniel Velazquez to take a 7-6 lead into halftime.

In the third quarter, Citrus couldn't find the back of the net, as Wong scored their only goal of the period. With the Owls unable to score, Whittier took full advantage, exploding for five scores to take a commanding 13-8 lead. The Owls would score three of the first four goals in the fourth to pull back to within three at 14-11 after a goal by Ian Schubert with just over four minutes to go. Citrus was shut out the rest of the way though, and the Poets added two insurance scores for their five goal victory.

In the loss, Citrus was paced by Wong who scored eight of their eleven goals, adding two steals, and drawing six ejections. Velazquez would score twice, while sophomore Kristopher Williams contributed in other ways, handing out a pair of assists, recording two steals, and blocking four shots in the field.

With the loss, Citrus drops to 7-5 on the year. The Owls will hit the road this weekend to participate in the annual South of the Border Invitational co-hosted by San Diego Mesa and San Diego Miramar Colleges. The first game of the weekend will be at San Diego Mesa when they take on the Olympians at 12:30 PM. The Owls follow that up later in the afternoon against El Camino College at 3:00 PM.