ORANGE, Calif. – The Chapman University men's water polo team dropped a hard-fought match 12-9 to Whittier (15-11, 11-2 SCIAC) this morning. The Panthers (13-12, 9-3 SCIAC) were led in goal by sophomore Wesley Hertel and on offense by junior Brady Hoskins, who recorded a hat trick.

Hoskins scored the first goal of the match for the Panthers to even the score up at one early in the first quarter. Man-up goals by freshmen Hayden Reider and Hunter Ramaekers put the Panthers up by one, but the Poets answered right back with two goals of their own to take a 4-3 lead heading into the second quarter.

The second quarter proved to be all Whittier action as they scored three unanswered goals to take a 7-3 lead going into halftime.

Reider and Hoskins each added another goal in the third quarter along with senior Jeff O'Brien and junior Kevin Dayan to pull the Panthers back within two points.

Chapman and the Poets went back-and-forth with their scoring, but the Panthers' effort was not enough to overtake Whittier. An insurance goal by Poets sophomore Justin Contreras put Whittier up 12-9 with just over two minutes left to play in the match. The Poets ran out the clock for the remainder of the match, securing the victory and a top-2 spot in the SCIAC standings.

Poets goalkeeper sophomore Murat Ersoz was a force to be reckoned with, recording 13 total saves and two steals in the match. On the other side of the pool was Hertel who recorded 11 saves and two steals for the Panthers.

Chapman men's water polo returns home on Wednesday, Nov. 8 at 7 p.m. as it takes on Caltech in its final home game of the season.

by Katie Bell
Sports Information Assistant

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