Sept. 14, 2008
Redlands, Calif.- The Pacific men's water polo team made a clean sweep of the competition at the 2008 Inland Empire Classic, defeating University of La Verne 18-3, and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 12-5. The two wins moved the Tigers to 6-3 on the year.
The opening game of the day had the Tigers matched up against the Leopards of University of La Verne. The game started off right away in the Tigers' favor with Pacific posting a 5-0 lead in the first quarter.
The Tigers' offense continued to overwhelm the Leopards all through the second quarter, and a solid performance from utility Lorin Bartlett (Porterville, Calif.), pushed Pacific to outscore La Verne, 5-2 in the period and earn a 10-2 lead going into halftime.
With momentum on their side, and an offense that was perfectly in sink with each other, the Tigers continued to pour it on in the third period, with another five-goal quarter, to extend the lead, despite giving up one goal, to 15-3.
With a comfortable lead heading into the final period, Pacific gave freshman Derek Petrich (Hemet, Calif.) his first collegiate appearance in the pool. Petrich did not allow a goal, and tallied two blocks as the Tigers scored three in period to win the game 18-3.
The Pacific's offense was in high-gear as seven Tigers found the back of the net for a score. Bartlett had five goals, freshman Adam Huff (Kearns, Utah) had four of his own, William Milcovich (Walnut Creek, Calif.) scored three, Hector Lam Jr. (San Diego, Calif.) and Tom Koning (Poway, Calif.) each had two goals, while Jeff Hoornaert (Stockton, Calif.) and Austin Delong (Houston, Texas) each had one apiece.
Part two of the day's action pitted the Tigers against the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (CMS) Stags. Pacific again started off the game with a dominant offensive performance and set the tone for the rest of the game. The quarter ended with the Tigers on top 4-0.
The second quarter proved to be more of a challenge for the Tigers' defense, as CMS kept pace with Pacific throughout the period. The teams drew a 3-3 tie for the quarter, but the Tigers held on to a 7-3 advantage going into halftime.
After the break, Pacific came out swinging once again, and turned on their offense to the tune of a 3-0 performance in the quarter. The shutout period helped propel the lead of the Tigers to seven, as they were up 10-3 heading into the final period of play.
CMS again answered back in fourth quarter, scoring a rebuttal goal each time the Tigers scored. Earning a 2-2 tie in the period, the clock expired and Pacific came away with their fifth win in two days, with a sound 12-5 victory over the Stags.
Senior Brett Hirsch (Brea, Calif.) had his best outing of the year as he led all scorers with three goals, as well as adding three steals. Junior Grant Hollis (Redlands, Calif.) had three scores, and senior Shane Mahoney (Lodi, Calif.) had a well-rounded game with two goals, two assists, and two steals. Milcovich again scored two for the Tigers, while junior Joey Rossi (Ceres, Calif.) and Lam each had one goal.
Pacific is next in action this Friday, September 19th, as they take on No. 10 UC Santa Barbara in their home opener at 5:00 pm at Chris Kjeldsen Pool.
