Mailbu, Calif.- The Pacific men's water polo team notched their first win of the 2008 SoCal Tournament on Sunday, Oct. 12 with a 9-8 victory over Bucknell University. The win moved to Tigers to 9-10 overall and 1-2 in the SoCal tournament.
Pacific entered Sunday morning's matchup looking to turn their game around after an 0-2 day on Saturday, and that is exactly what they did. Strong aggressive play put the Tigers ahead early in the first quarter, outscoring the Bison 2-1 in the first period.
The trend continued for the Tigers into the second period, with a dominant offensives surge putting Pacific ahead 5-2 at the half, with another strong period, outscoring Bucknell 3-1 in the quarter. Heading into halftime, momentum was in the Tigers' corner, and they showed no signs of slowing down.
The second half proved to be a different story from the first. Pacific's defense came out slightly timid as a new, energized Bucknell offense closed the gap on the Tigers with several early goals. The Bison outdid the Tigers offensively in the third period, 3-2, to cut the lead down to 7-5.
With only one quarter left to play, Pacific's defense again had to rally to hold off the Bison charge, as Bucknell again outscored the Tigers in the quarter 3-2, but Pacific found some critical goals to keep the Bison at bay, and hold on for the win, 9-8.
Pacific was led by sophomore Austin Delong (Houston, Texas) who had four goals in the game. Junior Grant Hollis (Redlands, Calif.) had three goals in the contest.
Senior goalie Brian Domecus (Vallejo, Calif.) totaled 15 saves in the game.
|
Q1 |
Q2 |
Q3 |
Q4 |
Total |
| Pacific |
2 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
9 |
| Bucknell |
1 |
1 |
3 |
3 |
8 |
In the second matchup of the day, Pacific took on the No. 14 Red Flash of Saint Francis College. The Tigers lost 10-6 in the game, dropping their season recorded to 9-11 overall, and 1-3 in the SoCal Tournament, finishing in 14th place overall.
Pacific struggled in their last game of the weekend, failing to convert on several shot opportunities. Saint Francis played steady the entire game, and came out victorious in the end.
Senior Shane Mahoney (Lodi, Calif.) and sophomore Lorin Bartlett (Porterville, Calif.) each had two goals for the Tigers, while senior Evan Garcia (Seabrook, Texas) and sophomore Hector Lam Jr. (San Diego, Calif.) each had one goal a piece.
The Tigers are next in action Friday, Oct. 18 as they open Mountain Pacific Sports Federation play against No. 4 Pepperdine at 10:30 am at Chris Kjeldsen Pool in Stockton, Calif.
