Division III National Championships (2006, 2007, 2008)
Division I National Championships (2014, 2015, 2016)
2006
The Lindenwood men's water polo team cruised to its first-ever national crown in 2006 winning the Division III national collegiate club championship. The water polo team ended its 2006 season with an overall record of 19-6. Most of those losses came against Division I teams, including three versus Division I national champion Michigan State. The Lions advanced to the title round after a 15-5 win over Grove City (Pa.) and an 11-5 victory over Tufts (Mass.). Lindenwood was never threatened in either contest, grabbing the lead in each game by halftime and then pulling away in the final two periods. In the championship match, Lindenwood faced two-time defending national champion, and host school, Wesleyan (Conn.). The two teams were tied at five in the final quarter when Danilo Lazarevic took the game over by scoring three straight goals. Wesleyan managed a late goal, but the Lions ran out the clock for an 8-6 victory. The championship was the first for the program and the first for head coach Ted Greenhouse, who was honored as the national coach of the year after leading Lindenwood to the national championship.
2007
The Lindenwood men's water polo team dominated the Collegiate Water Polo Association Division III Men's National Club Championship in 2007 to defend their title and take home a repeat National Championship title. The Lions are just the second team to win back-to-back Division III national titles. The tournament, which was hosted by Lindenwood at Lindbergh High School, was all Lions as they won their three games by an average of 12.3 goals a game. In the first round the Lions won 18-2 over Knox. In the semifinals, the Lions won 20-7 over Grove City. That set up a championship match with Grinnell, which Lindenwood won 12-4. Freshman Sharn Appel was named Tournament MVP and earned first-team All-American as he accumulated 15 goals throughout the three games. Alaisdair Campbell and Aaron Saule earned second-team All-American honors for their exceptional effort during the tournament
2008
The Lindenwood men's water polo team won its third straight Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Division III National Championship which was the third straight title for the Lions as they became the first program to three-peat. The Lions reached the national championship match after defeating Grinnell by a 23-7 score in the first-round, and Tufts by an 18-3 margin in the semifinals. The national championship game was tied at six after two periods. The Lions took over the contest in the third quarter by outscoring New York by a 7-3 margin. That run was started by Sharn Appel, who scored the first three goals of the second half to give Lindenwood a 9-6 advantage. New York would never get closer than two the rest of the way. Sharn Appel was named the tournament MVP for the second straight season, and Ali Campbell, Aaron Saule and Justin Bowers were also on the all-tournament squad.
2014
With a 13-8 victory over number one ranked San Diego State, the Lions captured the 2014 Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Men's Division I National Club Championship at the Kearns Oquirrh Park Fitness Center in Kearnes, Utah. It was the first time they hoisted the trophy since winning three straight Division III crowns from 2006 to 2008, and the title game victory completed a perfect season at 24-0.
After holding off a furious rally from California in the waning seconds for an 11-10 win in the semifinal contest, the title game was a bit less dramatic, with Lindenwood opening up a lead in the first four minutes that was never relinquished. The Lions jumped on the Aztecs, scoring three goals in a 92 second span midway through the first quarter. Andres Rodriguez, Alberto Duran, and Maulana Herfianto accounted for the markers to give Lindenwood a 3-0 advantage. San Diego State finally broke the shutout with 19 seconds remaining, but Diego Aldea answered just 13 seconds later to give the Lions a 4-1 advantage at the first break.
Toni Storic padded the lead when he fired a shot into the cage with 4:09 left in the second, but the Aztecs closed the gap with two straight goals and it was 5-3 as the clock ticked below 90 seconds. The two teams traded goals before the half when Alvaro Castro capitalized on a five-meter penalty shot for Lindenwood, and San Diego State beat the clock with 16 seconds left for a 6-4 score.
The offensive pace picked up early in the third. After the squads traded goals again in the first few moments, Javier Platero posted back-to-back scores for the Lions and Rodriguez added another to push the Lindenwood advantage to 10-5 midway through the quarter. It appeared that the Lions had built their lead even further, but a successful protest by the Aztec head coach erased two goals from the Lindenwood column. After San Diego State scored on a penalty shot, Platero completed his hat trick with 1:28 on the clock and the Lions took an 11-6 lead into the final quarter.
Two more goals from Platero early in the fourth pushed the lead to 13-6 and the Lindenwood defense took over from there to close out the game and the national championship.
Platero led the Lions offense with five goals while Rodriguez and Aldea added two each. Herfianto, Storic, Castro, and Alberto Duran each scored once. Goaltender David Alcon earned the win with nine saves. Two Lions were named to the 2014 CWPA Men's National Club Championship All-Tournament Team. Castro earned First Team honors while Duran was named to the Second Team. Lindenwood began their title run with a 22-5 victory over Iowa State and 12-4 win against Ohio State.
It proved to be a weekend of firsts for the Lions. They became the first team from the Missouri Valley Division to claim the title since the inaugural event in 1993, the first team in the history of the championship to win after finishing second the year before, and the first squad outside of the states of California and Michigan to hoist the trophy since Dartmouth College did it in 1997.
2015
With a narrow 10-9 victory over San Diego State November 15, 2015, men's water polo defended its national title at the 2015 Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Men's Division I Club Championship in Santa Cruz, Calif. The Lions defeated the same Aztecs 13-8 the year before to win the 2014 crown.
Lindenwood jumped out to a five goal lead by the half and it looked like the Lions would cruise to the repeat, but a furious fourth quarter rally from San Diego State set up an exciting finish down the stretch.
Javier Platero scored the first goal for Lindenwood only 54 seconds into the game and
Toni Storic added a marker a few minutes later, but the Aztecs put a shot in the back of the cage on a man advantage play with 1:26 remaining. Platero quickly responded less than a minute later and the Lions carried a 3-1 lead into the second quarter.
Lindenwood appeared to pull away for good in that frame with three unanswered goals. Enrique Sillero laced a shot into the net on a man advantage opportunity at the 47 second mark, then Storic and
Diego Aldea followed within the next minute on even strength chances and the Lions let 6-1 at the half.
That margin was extended early in the third when Platero completed his hat trick with an advantage goal, however San Diego State emerged from its offensive slumber with two goals in a span of 29 seconds to pull back within four. The two teams traded tallies twice in the remaining five plus minutes of the quarter, the Lindenwood scores coming from Aldea and
Alex Beltrol, and the Lions took a comfortable 9-5 advantage into the final seven minutes of the game, but things changed quickly.
Just 16 second into the fourth, the Aztecs capitalized on a five meter penalty shot, and followed with two more markers by the four minute mark to shrink the Lindenwood lead to just one. The Lions needed a goal to stem the tide and it came from Aldea with 2:43 left in regulation. Strong defense kept San Diego State off the board for just over two minutes, but the Aztecs found a way to get one past Lindenwood goalie Mario Caballero with 25 ticks of the clock remaining to make it 10-9. The Lions tried to play keep-away in the final seconds, but an offensive foul with 11 seconds left gave San Diego State one last chance to tie the game. The Aztecs made one last charge, but the desperation shot was turned away by Caballero and Lindenwood was able to celebrate.
Aldea and Platero led the offense with three goals each, followed by Storic with two, and Beltrol and Sillero with one each. Caballero had seven saves in 28 minutes of work to earn the win. The team went only 3-11 in advantage opportunities, but held San Diego State to just four goals in 17 chances.
With the victory, the Lions became only the fourth team in the history of the Men's National Collegiate Club Championship to win back-to-back titles, and by advancing to the finals, they became the first team since Michigan State in 2005-2008 to play for a title in three consecutive seasons.
At the conclusion of the event, three Lindenwood players were named to All-Tournament Team.
Toni Storic and
Javier Platero received First Team honors and
Diego Aldeareceived Second Team honors. Head coach
Dave Miller was named Outstanding Coach.
Lindenwood completed the 2015 season with an overall record of 18-1, a 9-0 conference record and third consecutive Missouri Valley Division title, and a second straight CWPA Men's Division I Club Championship.
2016
Men's water polo made history by capturing a third straight national title with a 9-5 victory over Long Beach State November 13 at the 2016 Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Men's Division I Club Championship at Rolf's Aquatic Center in Notre Dame, Indiana. The Lions became the first team to win three consecutive Division I club titles and the fifth team to win three or more overall, joining Cal Poly, Michigan, Michigan State, and UCLA.
Both teams played outstanding defense in the opening quarter, with no goals scored on either side until
Javier Platero finally broke the shutout with 41 second left to give Lindenwood a 1-0 lead. That advantage was padded with a shot from
Marc Tahull that found the back of the cage early in the second, but the 49'ers answered midway through the quarter with a pair of markers within one minute of play to tie the game at two. Long Beach State took the lead just 30 seconds later on a penalty shot before
Toni Storic tied the contest at three with 56 seconds remaining, but the Lions suffered a key loss when
Weston White was whistled for a misconduct call just 13 seconds before the break.
Despite the setback, Lindenwood ultimately gained momentum in the third quarter. The Lions took back the lead on a Tony Storic man-advantage goal 90 seconds into the frame, but Long Beach State countered moments later to tie the score at four. From there, Lindenwood broke the game open with four unanswered goals from the arms of
Diego Aldea and Platero. Aldea netted his two shots at even strength while Platero buried two penalty shots for the Lions. Lindenwood carried an 8-4 lead into the final quarter and Tahull expanded the advantage to five with his second score of the contest at the 77 second mark. The 49'ers managed a single tally with 1:32 remaining, but that was as close as they would get before the clock ran out, sending the Lions into celebration.
Platero led Lindenwood with a hat trick of goals while Tahull, Aldea, and Storic each scored twice to pace the offense. Special teams were a major factor as the Lions converted 3-6 advantage opportunities while holding Long Beach State to two goals in seven chances.
Mario Caballero was rock solid between the pipes with 10 saves on the day and earned co-Player-of-the-Game honors with Platero for the effort. Caballero was also named a First Team member of the All-Tournament Team and was joined by Storic and Aldea with the honor.
The Lions continued their great run at the CWPA Men's Division I Championship. They advanced to the title game for the fourth straight year, having lost to UCLA in 2013, then following it with three straight wins against San Diego State in 2014 and 2015, and the 49'ers in 2016. Lindenwood finished the season with an overall record of 19-1 with the only blemish coming early in September in a 16-15 loss to Gannon University. The Lions also captured their fifth straight Missouri Valley Division title with a 22-4 victory over McKendree in mid-October 2016.
