PASADENA, Calif. (Nov. 13, 2021) - On a spectacular day in Pasadena and in Braun Pool, juniors James Bowden (Los Angeles, Calif. / Granada Hills Charter) and Max Bricken (Portland, Ore. / Westview) led the Beavers with three goals each as the 2021 regular season ended in a 26-8 defeat at the hands of the Chapman College Panthers.

Playing without leading scorer Matthew Hajjar (San Jose, Calif. / The Harker School) for the third consecutive contest, the Beavers, already undermanned, worked tirelessly in the finale. Exemplifying this was the play of freshman Sean Zheng (San Marino, Calif. / Polytechnic School) - while he uncharacteristically did not find the net with any of the 10 hard-earned shots he took, he continued with his impressive opening season as a Beaver, assisting on four of the team's eight goals.  

In the first minute of action of the second period, sophomore Perry Samimy (Miami, Fla. / Ransom Everglades) converted on a 5-meter penalty shot that was awarded to Caltech when a Panther defender used two hands to block a Beavers' shot on goal. When Bricken followed with his first goal of the contest at 5:03, the Beavers had cut into the Panthers' lead and were only trailing 7-4. The home squad would get no closer before halftime, however, as Chapman extended the margin with five unanswered goals to put the Beavers in an eight-goal hole at intermission.

After the break, Head Coach John Bonafede's troops battled to stay in the game but found it challenging to keep up with a wave of fresh Chapman players. Potting three goals in the third, two by Bowden and another by Bricken, it was the most productive frame for the Beavers on the afternoon, yet the visitors' lead widened.

Making every effort to push forward and get back in the game in the final stanza allowed for Chapman's frontline to get up the pool quickly as Caltech junior goalkeeper Wei Foo (Hacienda Heights, Calif. / Troy) faced multiple outnumbered attacks and breakaways. These counterattacks aided Chapman in outscoring the Beavers in the fourth frame, 6-1, and contributed to the final goal differential.

The Beavers end their 2021 campaign that saw them make several positive strides despite facing significant adversity. With an opportunity to get healthier and train together more in the spring, in addition to the optimism of adding a few newly minted Beavers next fall, there is reason to believe that the positive steps made will continue as the program enters the 2022 Fall season next August.