THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (Mar. 19, 2022) - Getting back to full strength and being able to match up with the opponent, allowed Head Coach Jon Bonafede and the women't water polo team to compete with the California Lutheran University Regals on Saturday.  

 

While the Beavers fell behind 0-5 after one period of play, they stayed connected and matched the Regals in the second period.  Whlle Cal Lutheran scored the first goal in the second, after the Beavers drew an exclusion foul and earned a player advantage opportunity, it was sophomore attacker Tyler Fox (Cos Cob, Conn. / Greenwich) who buried a shot, assisted by sophomore attacker Emma Gurcan (Portland, Ore. / Lincoln) to get Caltech back within five goals at 1-6.  The Beavers and Regals played to a 1-1 draw in the second period and went to halftime with a 5-goal differential, the hosts leading 6-1.

 

After the intermission, the Beavers made a serious effort to get back into the contest.  Senior goalkeeper Zoe Rock (Chappaqua, N.Y. / Horace Greeley) played the entire contest between the pipes, but faced a barrage of attacks in the second half.  She managed 5 saves and 2 steals on the afternoon against the strong Regals attack.  

 

The Beavers second goal of the contest was scored by junior utility player, Amanda Piyapanee (Southlake, Texas / Carroll) making it 8-2 Cal Lutheran.  The goal was assisted by freshman, Sophia Slora (Wenatchee, Wash. / Wenatchee).

 

"I was really happy with how we communicated, and our effort today," Head Coach Jon Bonafede said.  "We have a lot of players finding themselves open in our offense, and now we just need to get the ball in the cage. I like how our team is progressing and I am excited to see us in action next week during spring break. It was terrific that we had everyone play a good number of minutes, and everyone played hard and contributed to the game."

 

The Beavers are back in action on Tuesday, March 22 when they play host to the Washington and Jefferson College Presidents at 4:00 pm on the Caltech campus.  Livestream and live stats will be available, and you can follow the women's water polo program, as well as all Caltech Athletics, all year long at www.GoCaltech.com.