November 3, 2011

Stockton, Calif. - 

Weekly Release in PDF Format

What's Happening
The Pacific men's water polo team will hit the road for a pair of Mountain Pacific Sports Federation contests this week. The Tigers will face off against No. 1 UCLA Friday, November 4, at 7 p.m. before meeting No. 5 UC Santa Barbara on Sunday, November 6, at 12 p.m.

Last Week In Brief
The Tigers were unable to overcome a three-goal deficit as they fell 10-9 to then-No. 8 UC Irvine Saturday, October 29. Pacific rebounded the following day, defeating then-No. 15 Santa Clara 11-5 in a nonconference road match.

A Quick Look Ahead
The Orange and Black will play their fourth consecutive match away from Kjeldsen Pool Friday, November 11, in their MPSF tilt with No. X California at 5 p.m.. Pacific returns home Sunday, November 13, for a conference match with reigning national champion No. X USC at 12 p.m.

News And Notes
Seniors Tom Koning and Tyler Reardon competed in their 100th career matches this past weekend. Reardon eclipsed the century mark against UC Irvine while Koning hit triple digits against Santa Clara. Reardon also recorded his 100th career steal against Santa Clara; he now has 102 career thefts.

Senior Tucker Mattern tallied his first career goal at Pacific in the Tigers' victory over Santa Clara. He scored in the fourth quarter of Pacific's decisive win.

Junior Goran Tomasevic recorded his 150th career drawn ejection against UC Irvine. He has drawn 52 ejections this season and has 152 in his career.

Head coach James Graham earned his 50th career victory as the Tigers' coach Sunday against Santa Clara.

Upcoming Milestones
Sophomore Balazs Erdelyi is close to multiple milestones. He is five games shy of 50 career matches while needing just seven goals and eight assists to tally 100 in each category.

MPSF Stat Rankings
Three Tigers rank in the top 10 in the conference in goals scored per game. Sophomore Balazs Erdelyi owns a 2.47 goals-per-game average and has tallied 41 scores on the year, fourth-most in the league. His scoring average ranks fourth, in the MPSF. Senior Tom Koning is averaging 2.00 goals per game, good for sixth, while junior Goran Tomasevic is averaging 1.83 goals per game, good for eighth.

Sophomore Alex Malkis is one of just four goalies to average more than 10 saves per game. His 10.34 average ranks third and his 150 saves ranks second.

Scouting UCLA
The Bruins own a 15-3 record on the year and are 2-1 in MPSF matches. They are currently riding a five-game winning streak, all of which came away from their home pool, and are ranked No. 1 nationally.

UCLA possesses an extremely balanced offensive attack as four players rank in the top 25 in goals-per-game average. Junior Josh Samuels leads the way with a 1.81 average. He has registered 29 goals on the year.

Junior goalkeeper Matt Rapacz is averaging 7.30 saves per game but is allowing only 6.80 goals per game, one of only four goalies to give up less than seven scores per match.

As a time, the Bruins are scoring an average of 12.67 goals per match while allowing an average of 5.94 goals.

Scouting UC Santa Barbara
UC Santa Barbara enters this weekend at 14-7 and 2-2 in league matches. The Gauchos played one match last weekend, defeating Pepperdine 16-15 in overtime.

Sophomore Matt Gronow is UCSB's most potent offensive threat. He is averaging 1.76 goals per game and has scored 37 goals on the year.

Junior Myles Christian is one of the top goalkeepers in the MPSF, averaging 10.49 saves per game. His 118 saves ranks fifth. He is allowing an average of 7.91 goals per game.

As a team, the Gauchoes are averaging 11.81 goals per game while allowing an average of 7.90 scores.

Pacific has already competed against UCSB once this season, falling 9-8 in a sudden-victory match at the SoCal Tournament. Sophomore Balazs Erdelyi had four goals in the match while classmate Alex Malkis registered 12 blocks.