Sept. 23, 2006
Stockton, Calif. - With :17 seconds remaining in the second overtime period, senior Matt Mitchell (San Diego, Calif.) scored his only goal of the game to lift the seventh ranked Pacific men's water polo team to an 11-10 win over No. 4 Stanford on Saturday, Sept. 23.
With the win the Tigers moved to 9-5 on the season, while Stanford fell to 5-3. The match marked the first time the Tigers had defeated the Cardinal since Oct. 7th, 2000, an 8-7 decision at Stanford.
Stanford stormed out of the gates in the first period by scoring three straight goals, two coming from Will Hindle-Katel, to take a 3-0 lead. Pacific then got on the scoreboard as junior Duje Kaurloto (Split, Croatia) found the back of the cage to pull the Tigers to within two. Following a Cardinal goal, Kaurloto closed out the period with a five-meter penalty goal to make the score 4-2 heading into the second period. Michael Bury started off the period with a goal for the Cardinal, his second of the game, to make the score 5-2 before the Tigers scored two unanswered goals. The first of the goals came from Kaurloto, giving him three on the half, while fellow Croatian junior Dragan Bakic (Split, Croatia) tallied the other to pull the Tigers to within one at the intermission, 5-4.
The Cardinal again came out firing, scoring two straight goals to start the period and pushing the advantage to three at 7-4. Senior co-captain Clint McLaughlin (El Cajon, Calif.) then connected on a five-meter penalty goal to pull Pacific back to within two before Stanford found the back of the cage on the ensuing Cardinal possession to make the score 8-5. The Tigers pair of Croatians then countered back with a goal apiece as Bakic scored with 2:45 remaining and then Kaurloto scored with 2:11 remaining in the period to make the score 8-7 Stanford heading into the fourth.
Pacific lost the sprint to start the fourth period, but gained possession quickly as :38 seconds in Bakic connected on his third goal of the game to tie the score at 8-8. Midway through the period Janson Wigo scored to give Stanford the advantage 9-8, but the Tigers were able to tie it right back as Bakic scored his fourth of the game to again tie the score at 9-9. Wigo answered the call for the Cardinal two minutes later and gave the Cardinal a 10-9 advantage with 1:32 remaining.
After holding the Cardinal to a near shot-clock violation, Hindle-Katel was kicked out in the push back to the other end with :17 seconds on the clock, giving the Tigers a 6-on-5 power play opportunity to tie the game. Following a time-out, senior co-captain Matt Turnbull (Act, Australia) found the left back of the cage on a powerful attempt with nine seconds remaining to send the game into overtime.
The first overtime period saw each team attempt two shots, with neither finding the back of the cage. In the second three-minute extra session, after an exclusion was called on Drac Wigo for the Cardinal, the Tigers had a chance with :34 seconds left to take the lead. Following a time-out the Tigers setup Matt Mitchell for the eventual game-winner, which gave the Tigers an 11-10 lead with :19 seconds left on the clock. Stanford had a shot at the end blocked by junior goalie Brian Domecus (Vallejo, Calif.) to give the Tigers the victory in front of a raucous home crowd that filled Chris Kjeldsen Pool.
For the Tigers, Bakic and Kaurloto scored four goals apiece, with Bakic also added four drawn ejections, including two of three five-meters. Domecus had a banner day in goal, coming up with 14 blocks, including nine in the second half and overtime.
The Cardinal were led by Janson Wigo, Michael Bury and Hindle Katel who each had two goals. Wigo also added three assists and three steals for the Cardinal, while Bury added four drawn ejections. In goal, Sandy Hohener tallied 10 blocks on the day.
Pacific will be back in action on Saturday, Sept. 30 as the Tigers host UC Davis at 12 p.m. The Pacific alumni game will follow at approximately 1 p.m.
Pacific: 2-2-3-3-0-1 = 11
Stanford: 4-1-3-2-0-0 = 10
Goals:
Pacific: Bakic 4 (29, 30, 31, 32), Kaurloto 4 (34, 35, 36, 37), McLaughlin (18), Matt Mitchell (12), Turnbull (20)
Stanford: Bury 2 (3, 4), Hindel-Katel 2 (16, 17), Janson Wigo 2 (14, 15), Drake (12), Garton (4), Drac Wigo (10), Sage Wright (4)
Blocks: Domecus (PAC) 14, Hohener (STAN) 10
Sprints: Mike Mitchell (PAC) 3, Drake (STAN), Janson Wigo (STAN), Drac Wigo (STAN)
