Sept. 17, 2006
Palo Alto, Calif.: The No. 9 Pacific men's water polo team fell to No. 5 UCSD 12-11 before bouncing back against No. 6 UC Davis, defeating the Aggies 12-10. The Tigers finished in seventh place at the NorCal Tournament, and are now 8-5 on the season.
Against the Tritons, Pacific got on the scoreboard first as senior Matt Mitchell (San Diego, Calif.) scored on his only shot attempt of the game to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead. UCSD then scored two straight goals before junior Dragan Bakic (Split, Croatia) found the back of the cage to tie the score at 2-2.
The Tritons went on to score three straight goals, and had a 5-2 advantage in the second period before senior co-captain Clint McLaughlin (El Cajon, Calif.) scored on a five-meter penalty. After a UCSD goal made the score 6-3, Bakic connecting on his second of the game, this time on a 6-on-5 power play to pull the Tigers to within two. Junior Andy Skora (San Clemente, Calif.) then got in on the scoring action, scoring with 2:23 remaining in the half to make the score 6-5. The Tritons answered with a goal, but the Tigers closed out the half with two straight goals as junior Duje Kaurloto (Split, Croatia) and Bakic each found the back of the cage to tie the score 7-7 heading into intermission.
The second half got underway with a UCSD power play goal, which the Tigers answered back quickly with a five-meter goal by McLaughlin, tieing the score again at 8-8. After a Triton timeout setup a power play goal for UCSD, Pacific fought back with a goal by sophomore Grant Hollis (Redlands, Calif.) that tied the score at 9-9 entering the fourth period.
Kaurloto kicked off the fourth period with a power play goal 1:39 in to give the Tigers a 10-9 advantage. UCSD scored on its ensuing possession to tie the score at 10-10 before Bakic scored with 5:33 remaining to give the Tigers an 11-10 lead. 15 seconds later the Tigers were dealt a blow as Kaurloto was ejected for the third time of the game, disqualifing him from the remainder of the game. The Tritons tacked on two more goals, including the game winner with 1:30 remaining to account for the 12-11 final outcome.
Against UC Davis, both teams started slow as Pacific's Croatian tandem of Bakic and Kaurloto each scored for the Tigers, accounting for a 2-2 tally after the first period. The Aggies started the second period off hot as they scored three straight goals to take a 5-2 lead. Pacific was able to fire off two straight goals as Bakic connected for one, and McLaughlin scored on a power play to pull Pacific to within one. UC Davis scored two straight goals, extending their lead to 7-4 before senior Chris Garcia (Burbank, Calif.) scored with less than a minute remaining in the half to make the score 7-5.
To start the second half, Kaurloto again took the Tigers on his back, scoring three goals in the third period, including a power play goal. Sophomore Will Milcovich (Walnut Creek, Calif.) also added a goal in the period, making the score 9-9 heading into the fourth. In the fourth period, the Tigers took a 10-9 lead on a Matt Mitchell goal, which was answered back by the Aggies, tieing the game again at 10-10. Mitchell was not done, however, as he scored a power play goal on the ensuing possession, the eventual game winner, giving the Tigers an 11-10 lead they would not relinquish. Kaurloto later added a goal, his fifth of the game, to account for the final margin of 12-10.
Junior goalie Brian Domecus (Vallejo, Calif.) allowed just three second half goals while recording nine blocks.
All told for the Tigers, Kaurloto had seven goals on the day, giving him 15 for the two-day tournament. Bakic added 10 in the tournament for the Tigers, while senior co-captain Matt Turnbull (Act, Australia) scored six in the tournaments first day before an injury forced him out of second day action.
The Tigers will be next in action on Saturday, September 23 as they host No. 4 Stanford at Chris Kjeldsen Pool. First sprint is scheduled for 12:00pm.
UC San Diego: 3 4 2 3 = 12
Pacific 2 5 2 2 = 11
Goals:
UCSD: Lackey 4, Casellini 3, Jerkovic 2, Kkotanjian, Donohoe, Williamson
Pacific: Bakic 4 (23, 24, 25, 26), Kaurloto 2 (27, 28), McLaughlin 2 (15, 16), Hollis (8), Skora (19), Matt Mitchell (9)
Blocks: Randall (UCSD) 6; Domecus (PAC) 7
Pacific: 2 3 4 3 = 12
UC Davis: 2 5 2 1 = 10
Goals
Pacific: Kaurloto 5 (29, 30, 31, 32, 33), Bakic 2 (27, 28), Matt Mitchell 2 (10, 11), McLaughlin (17), Milcovich (12), Chris Garcia (5)
UCD: Arrigo 2, Bacharach 2, Smith, MacLachlan, Long, Bennett, Welch, Muenter
Blocks: Domecus (PAC) 9; McGee (UCD) 11
