(WALNUT) The Mt. SAC men's water polo team remained undefeated in the South Coast Conference with a 26-11 victory over visiting Chaffey College Wednesday afternoon at Marie T. Mills Aquatic Center.
Then they hit the road for an East Coast trip that will include four games on the brief four-day trip to Pennsylvania and New York.
Highlighting the trip will be a trip to Niagara Falls followed by games against Gannon University, W & J University and Mercyhurst University, all of Erie.
"It should be good and to get a feel on what it's like to play back east," Mt. SAC coach Marc Ruh said. "It's a chance to play against teams that are typically recruiting the guys from here. They've never seen their campuses before.
"Oftentimes those schools back east don't have a big recruiting budget and (this) really helps to get the kids seen."
Sophomores Jeffrey Silverberg (Walnut HS) and Scott McDill (Walnut HS, Air Force Academy) had a huge offensive day scoring nine and eight goals respectively.
"We are best friends," McDill said. "Jeffrey has gotten phenomenally better than the Jeffrey I saw in high school. His game IQ is just so high and the game wouldn't be the same without him. And he is a great defender too."
The goal output for the two is the largest combined total of the season for the Mounties.
"They have a lot of chemistry," Ruh said. "They played through high school and club together. That pair is phenomenal."
Defensively for the Mounties was sophomore Thomas Randles (Claremont HS) with six steals, while Alec Rivera (Chino Hills HS) had five.
McDill started out with a hat trick in the first and second periods, while Silverberg scored two goals in each period.
After a close first quarter in which the Panthers only trailed by two, 6-4, the Mounties defense tightened up, allowing only three goals in the second. The rout was on as Mt. SAC poured in ten goals for the 16-7 halftime lead.
"We were making some big defensive mistakes leaving wide open shots," McDill said. "In the end we adapted and adjusted.
Mt. SAC sophomore goal tender Andres Jaramillo (Montclair HS) saw 20 shots and saved nine and picked up his 13th win.
After the team returns from their east coast trip they will have four remaining regular season games, which include two conference games. The Mounties will play at Cerritos next Wednesday.