Oct. 26, 2008

Stockton, Calif.- The Pacific men's water polo fell to No. 4 UCLA on Sunday Oct. 26, 14-2 at Chris Kjeldsen Pool. The loss moved the Tigers to 10-15 overall and 0-3 in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation play, while the Bruins advanced to 11-4 overall and 3-1 in MPSF play.

The first period began with a strong defensive battle. Both teams pressed hard on perimeter and refused to allow easy shots. Scoreless through almost four minutes, UCLA broke through first on a goal by Jacob Murphy at the 4:15 mark, to give the Bruins a 1-0 lead. Strong defense continued as time went on, but once again UCLA found the net with a goal by Krsto Sbutega with just over two minutes remaining, to put them up 2-0. Time expired on the quarter, and the Tigers were still within striking distance, trailing 2-0.

Quarter number two saw UCLA waste no time in extending their lead, as Scott Davidson scored only twenty-nine seconds into the period to boost the lead to 3-0. Pacific struggled to find an answer to the UCLA offense, as Davidson scored his second of the contest with 5:56 remaining. Pacific pushed on the offensive end to try to cut into the four-goal hole, they were in. Shot after shot glanced off the upright of UCLA's cage, putting a damper on the Tigers' comeback attempts. Davidson scored his third of the quarter moments later, as four minutes remained and UCLA was leading 5-0. The Bruins continued to pour it on, as Clay Jorth scored his first with 2:56 left to play in the quarter to make it a 6-0 game, just before the half. Davidson added his fourth goal of the quarter with 1:14 left, putting UCLA on top 7-0. Time ran out in the first half, and the Tigers found themselves in need a rally in the second half.

The second half started with a new-look Tiger squad in the water. The defensive intensity elevated, thanks in part to senior Brian Domecus (Vallejo, Calif.), who made a stellar save outside at the two meter line spark the Tigers. The rally did not last long, as the Bruins scored twice more in the next few minutes, once on a penalty five meter by Sbutega, and once on a goal from Scott Swanson, to put the Bruins in command, 9-0. Pacific finally broke through on the offensive end with a goal by sophomore Austin Delong (Houston, Texas), with 4:20 remaining in the quarter, to cut the lead 9-1. Inspired by the sudden spark in offense, Delong scored again only moments later to boost the energy and morale of the Tigers, as they trailed 9-2 with just over three minutes remaining. With UCLA driving at the five meter line, Delong proved his versatility by coming up with a huge field block right in front of the cage to carry the Tigers in the quarter.

The Bruins answered Pacific with Sbutega's third goal of the game with 1:05 left to play. The period ended, and the Tigers were on a mission, only trailing the Bruins 10-2 with one period left to play.

With momentum on their side, and Delong playing solid, Pacific started the fourth quarter with tough defense yet again. Forcing bad shot after bad shot, the Tigers refused to back down. The teams went back and forth, trading missed shot for missed shot, until Davidson again scored for UCLA, to put them on top 11-2 with just over five minutes left to play. A few minutes passed, when UCLA scored twice more on goals by Tyler Jemmet and Jorth, to lead 13-2. Matt Preciado added one more for the Bruins with 2:05 left to play, to put the Tigers away 14-2.Time expired, and UCLA came away with the victory.

Pacific was led by Delong who scored both goals for the Tigers.

UCLA was led by Davidson who led all scorers with five goals.

The Tigers return to the water Sunday, Nov. 2 at 12 noon in an MPSF contest against UC Santa Barbara at Chris Kjeldsen Pool.