LA VERNE, Calif. — The Caltech men's water polo team picked up a significant victory on Saturday as the Beavers downed the Penn State Behrend Lions by a score of 13-11 in a gritty morning matchup. The University of La Verne hosted the neutral site game as the two teams faced off as part of the annual Gary Troyer Tournament.

The Beavers entered the pool hungry for revenge over the Lions after they defeated Caltech back on Sep. 3 in a 15-4 contest.

Saturday's matchup would prove to be a far different story as it was Caltech who jumped out to the early lead over the opponents. First-year utility Axel Haydt kicked off the scoring with a well-timed goal at the 4:47 mark of the first quarter before sophomore center Bram Schork made it two with a goal a few possessions later.

The Beavers would make it a 3-0 game in the final minute of the period as Schork fired an impressive shot into the back of the net, electrifying the Caltech bench.

It was Penn State Behrend who opened the second quarter with a score, though the Beavers responded with another shifty goal from Schork at the 5:56 mark to give the group its fourth goal of the contest. First-year attacker Joshua Braun got involved in the scoring on the team's subsequent possession, firing a shot that found the back of the net to give the Beavers their fifth goal.

The team made it three-in-a-row for the second time at the 2:14 mark as Schork yet again notched a huge goal; this time first-year attacker Justin Hong picked up the assist after feeding the ball to the center inside.

The Beavers entered the half with a 6-3 advantage though the Lions would score twice to open the third to get within one of the Beavers.

Hong scooped his second score of the contest to push the lead to two, though Penn State Behrend responded with two goals of their own to tie the game at 7-7. The two teams reached another tie at 8-8 before tying yet again at 9-9 and 10-10 after Hong scored once and Schork scored twice more.

The Beavers executed a well-orchestrated offense down the stretch as Schork scored yet again to put the Beavers up 11-10 at the 3:43 mark. A goal from Hong gave the Beavers a two-goal advantage with just over three minutes remaining in the matchup.

Caltech's defense proved strong in the final few minutes of action as they forced the Lions into difficult shots; sophomore goalkeeper Sujit Iyer also came up big in net, saving several near-goals at the most important moments of the contest.

Schork scored his eighth goal of the game and Caltech's 13th of the game with just over thirty seconds remaining. The opponents registered one final goal a few seconds later, though it was too late as the Beavers secured the 13-11 victory.

Caltech held the Lions to just one goal in the final 4:22 of play; the Beavers registered a .310 shot percentage. The team's 13 goals came just two scores shy of tying the group's highest single-game goal total this season.

Iyer notched a career high in saves with 13 while Schork's eight goals led all players and comes two shy of his career high. Hong scored three goals for the third time this fall; six different players registered at least one steal.

Head coach Jon Bonafede was pleased with how his team performed after falling to the Lions earlier this month.

"This was a great team effort and a testament to how much we have improved this year," said Bonafede. "The first time we matched up vs. PSB early this season we lost by a large margin so were happy with the result."

The team took a quick break before returning to the pool later in the afternoon for a matchup against the University of California, Merced. The Beavers struck first with a quick goal 34 seconds into the match from Schork, though the Golden Bobcats quickly tied the match up at 1-1 a few moments later.

UC Merced pushed ahead as action continued, though Schork added three more goals while Hong and Braun each added a score a piece. Ultimately the team could not catch up to their northern opponent as the final buzzer sounded.

Schork notched 12 goals on the day between the two games; Hong came up with four scores.

"UC Merced was a tough matchup for us but I was happy with how the team competed today," said Bonafede. "We definitely got better and the team is responding to our coaching."

The Beavers will take on another high-level opponent on Wednesday as they take on the No. 2-ranked University of Redlands Bulldogs on the road in a 7 p.m. in-conference clash. Follow the game online at gocaltech.com/coverage.

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