LA VERNE, Ca. - Justin Vink (Los Angeles, CA/Granada Hills Charter) scored the go ahead goal with 3:02 left in the fourth quarter to lead the Penn State Behrend men's water polo team past Caltech Friday night. Vink gave the Lions an 11-10 lead and scored an insurance goal to give Behrend a two-goal lead with 2:37 left in regulation. Behrend would complete the thrilling comeback victory by a final score of 12-11.
In the second game of a doubleheader, the Lions (2-6) held off Caltech (5-9) to get their second victory of the season at the Gary Troyer Tournament co-hosted by Pomona-Pitzer, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and La Verne.
Behrend fell behind early in the first quarter but was able to get on the board when Carson Williamson (Stockton, CA/Franklin-Stagg) netted the Lions first goal with 2:41 left in the quarter.
Both teams notched three goals in the second quarter, however Behrend trailed 7-5 at the half. Behind for the entire game, the Lions managed to tie the score at nine on a goal by Matthew Johnson (Houston, TX/Cypress Falls) with 6:12 left in the fourth quarter.
After taking a 10-9 lead, Johnson scored again to tie the game at 10. Justin Vink would then score the next two goals of the game to give Behrend a 12-10 lead. With 2:06 remaining, Patric Eck scored for Caltech to make it a 12-11 game. Ty Elder (Brentwood, CA/Heritage) would close down the Lions net to seal the exciting victory and earn their second win over Caltech this season. Elder finished with 12 saves on the day.
Earlier in the day, La Verne (4-9) defeated the Lions by a score of 19-6. La Verne scored seven first quarter goals to pull ahead early.
The Lions broke the scoring drought on a goal by Matthew Johnson with 3:53 left to play in the first half. La Verne added six more goals in the second quarter and was able to sustain their lead for the victory.
John Ingari (York, PA/Central York) and Victor Nguyen (San Jose, CA/Evergreen Valley) combined for five goals on the day. Troy Valkusky (Drifton, PA/Hazleton) and Nick Pabich (Lake Forest, IL/Lake Forest) also contributed a goal each.
The Lions will rematch Caltech tomorrow at 6:20 p.m.
