Sept. 21, 2008

Stockton, Calif.- The No. 14 Pacific men's water polo team fell to No. 9 UC San Diego 8-7 in their third game of the 2008 NorCal Tournament on Sunday September 21. The loss dropped the Tigers to 7-6 on the year while the Tritons moved to 10-2 on the season.

The Tigers entered the matchup 1-1 in the NorCal Tournament, looking to advance into the ninth place game with a win over UC San Diego (UCSD). Pacific started off sluggish in the first quarter, giving up two goals to the Tritons while struggling with their offense. The first period ended with Pacific trailing UCSD 2-0.

Using the first quarter as a wake up call, the Tigers sprang to life offensively in the second and third quarters. It started slowly at first, as the Tigers again gave up two quick scores to trail 4-0. Then, the offense turned it on. Senior William Milcovich (Walnut Creek, Calif.) struck gold three times, while fellow senior Evan Garcia (Seabrook, Texas) scored one goal as well. Continuing his streak of excellent play, freshman Tyler Reardon (Oak Park, Calif.) scored once more for the Tigers, as they outscored the Tritons 6-4 in the middle quarters.

Tied up at 6-6 heading into a fourth quarter showdown, the defenses of both teams picked the pace and a battle ensued throughout the fourth quarter. As time was winding down, the Tigers trailed 8-6 to UCSD with less then 30 seconds remaining. Redshirt sophomore Lorin Bartlett (Porterville, Calif.) scored his first goal of the game from set with: 27 left to play. The Tritons ran out the clock to end the game, and close out the Tigers 8-7.

Pacific was led by Milcovich who had three goals for the Tigers. Redshirt junior Grant Hollis (Redlands, Calif.) also scored for Pacific. Senior Brian Domecus (Vallejo, Calif.) had 12 saves for the Tigers.

UCSD was led by Steven Donohoe who had three goals and AJ Kotanjian two goals for the Tritons.

Pacific returns to the pool at 5:00pm as they face Santa Clara for the 11th Place game at St. Mary's High School.