WHITTIER, Calif. (Apr. 2, 2022) - When collegiate programs talk about the strength of their conferences and the number of nationally ranked foes that they face year-over-year, few to none would be able to make the same argument as Caltech's women's water polo team.  On Saturday, the Beavers jumped into the tank to face the No. 4 nationally ranked Whittier College Poets in what turned out be an uphill battle from the opening sprint.

 

With all eight SCIAC opponents ranked in the top-10 of the NCAA Division III Women's Water Polo preseason poll, Head Coach Jon Bonafede and the squad know that each game is being played against the most talented teams in the sport, nationally.   It's essentially an Elite Eight challenge each game played in conference.  And they wouldn't have it any other way.  "We know that we are going to be battling talented rosters and storied programs each time out," Bonafede said.  "I'm very proud how our team continues to compete in every game, and its notable the progress we have made this season.  We will always keep playing hard."

 

That was evident in their matchup with Whittier, as the Poets unleashed a potent offensive attack that senior goalkeeper Zoe Rock Chappaqua, N.Y. / Horace Greeley) and the Beavers defense gave great effort in holding at bay.  While the Caltech attack was able to get 21 shots off on the afternoon, most were turned aside by the Whittier goalkeepers as the Beavers went into halftime trailing 11-0.  The second half was a much more balanced result with the Beavers yielding 5 additional goals total across periods 3 and 4, while scoring twice themselves in the 16-2 loss.  

 

Offensively, sophomore attacker Emma Gurcan (Portland, Ore. / Lincoln) was the first to score for Caltech, firing home an even strength goal with 2:49 remaining in the 3^rd period.  While several Caltech shots would hit the crossbar and posts in the contest, junior utility player Amanda Piyapanee (Southlake, Texas / Carroll) scored on one of her four shots, potting a goal with a player advantage, scoring the final goal of the contest with 3:31 remaining in the game.  This 6-on-5 goal was the only power play the Beavers converted of the five player advantage chances they had in the game.  While she didn't score in the contest, it's notable that sophomore attacker Tyler Fox (Cos Cob, Conn. / Greenwich) had five shots on goal that were denied by the Whittier goalkeepers.  

 

Interestingly, both teams were awarded, and missed wide, five-meter penalty shots within 30 seconds of each other near the end of the contest.    

 

Next up for Coach Bonafede and the team is a home game on Wednesday, April 6 at 7:00 pm versus the SCIAC fifth place team, the University of La Verne Leopards. 

 

To follow the women's water polo program and their efforts against the strongest programs in all of Division III, please logon to GoCaltech.com.  Both live stats and live stream of the Beavers four remaining games this season can be found on the women's water polo page under schedule at this site.