PASADENA, Calif. (Oct. 23, 2021) – Junior Matthew Hajjar (San Jose, Calif. / Harker School) wrapped up an incredible week with a four-goal effort to lead Caltech men's water polo in a hotly contested match against Division III national No. 4 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges under the lights on Saturday night.

Fresh off a modern record 10-goal performance at the University of La Verne on Wednesday night, Hajjar came up with several incredible strikes despite often being double-teamed in the hole set by a bigger and fresher Stags squad throughout the night. Rookie Sean Zheng (San Marino, Calif. / Polytechnic) also stood out with a three-goal, two-assist effort while sophomore Perry Samimy (Miami, Fla. / Ransom Everglades) made the highlight reel twice, sneaking a pair of sidearm rockets into extremely tight windows for a brace.

CMS jumped on the board first with relentless pressure netting the visitors three quick scores before Caltech answered on a man-up opportunity. The foes traded strikes over the next minute as Caltech distributed the ball well while forcing CMS to work for good looks on offense, though as fatigue set in late in the quarter the Stags nabbed another pair over the final two minutes for a 6-2 lead. The second quarter opened similarly to the first, with CMS converting two man-up chances and surging forward at 10-3 still at just the 4:35 mark. Caltech dug in from that point, however, to outscore CMS 8-5 over the remainder of the game.

Hajjar struck with 11 seconds left in the half to bring Caltech back within six at 12-6 and the Beavers weathered another pair of quick scores before flipping the match entirely. The hosts pulled CMS into a defensive stalemate over the next two minutes before junior Max Bricken (Portland, Ore. / Westview) broke through for the Beavers, who then rode the momentum through the end of the quarter for a scoreless 6:11 by the Stags. After Samimy notched with five seconds left to cut the deficit to six, Caltech kept up the stout play and ripped away a steal and quick counter for a ninth goal. Another six scoreless minutes ensued, when at 1:56 Zheng potted another on Bricken's fifth assist of the night and junior James Bowden (Los Angeles, Calif. / Granada Hills Charter) made things interesting with another tally at the 44-second mark for a three-goal game. Junior Wei Foo (Hacienda Heights, Calif. / Troy made a clutch save to get Caltech the ball again but the rally would end there.

Head Coach Jon Bonafede and the Beavers will look to pick up their first SCIAC win against familiar foe Occidental College in Eagle Rock as the first game of a doubleheader with Ottawa (Ariz.) University on Saturday, Oct. 30.