Nov. 29, 2009
Los Angeles, Calif. - No. 9 UC Santa Barbara defeated No. 12 Pacific in the seventh place game in the third day of the MPSF Tournament, 20-11.
The Gauchos opened the first quarter taking the 1-0 lead but junior Austin Delong (Houston, Texas) responded notching the Tigers first goal to tie the game at one goal apiece. UC Santa Barbara scored back-to-back goals to take the 3-1 lead. Lance Morrison (Fairfield, Calif.) tallied his first goal of the contest to put Pacific within one. The Gauchos closed the first quarter scoring three consecutive goals to take the 6-2 lead.
Junior Joey Gullikson (Sonoma, Calif.) opened the second quarter notching a goal to cut the Gaucho lead in half, but UCSB gained a six point lead on three consecutive goals to make it a 9-3 game. Gullikson scored his second goal of the quarter with 3:47 left in the half to put Pacific within five. After the Gauchos took an 11-4 lead freshman Goran Tomasevic (Split, Croatia) scored his first goal of the day at the 2:14 spot to make it an 11-5 contest. With 1:59 left in the half UCSB expanded its lead to six but Tomasevic responded 37 second later with his second goal in the half. The Gauchos closed out the half taking the 13-6 lead with 0:27 left on the clock.
Pacific started the third quarter on a high note with back-to-back goals from Tomasevic and Morrison. After UCSB took the 14-8 lead with 5:59 left on the clock, Morrison scored Pacific's last goal of the quarter at the 4:53 mark. The Gauchos closed the quarter scoring three additional goals.
The Tigers trailed 18-9 in the fourth quarter when senior Joey Rossi (Ceres, Calif.) scored his first goal of the tournament with 4:48 left in regulation to cut the Gaucho lead to eight. Down by nine, senior Lorin Bartlett (Porterville, Calif.) scored Pacific's final goal of the tournament with 1:32 left on the clock. UC Santa Barbara noted its last goal 49 second later for a 20-11 final score.
Goran Tomasevic (Split, Croatia) and Lance Morrison (Fairfield, Calif.) led the Tigers, notching three goals apiece for the hat trick. Senior David Andrus (Houston, Texas) had five saves in the cage for Pacific.
Seniors David Andrus (Houston, Texas), Lorin Bartlett (Porterville, Calif.), Grant Hollis (Redlands, Calif.) and Joey Rossi (Ceres, Calif.) appeared closed out their careers with the Tigers at the 2009 MPSF Tournament. Andrus finished the weekedn with 25 saves in the cage for Pacific. Rossi recorded one goal and three assists, while Bartlett recorded one goal and two steals during the weekend to close out their careers with Pacific.
Also joining the Tigers in his final game was assistant coach Dragan Bakic. Bakic leaves the Tigers after two years on deck with head coach James Graham to take over as the Director of Aquatics and the head coach of the boys and girls varsity water polo teams at St. Mary's High School in Stockton, Calif.
With the loss Pacific finished eight at the tournament and ended the season 13-18. With the win UC Santa Barbara finished the season 13-16.
Scoring Summary
| |
Q1 |
Q2 |
Q3 |
Q4 |
Final |
| UCSB |
6 |
7 |
4 |
3 |
20 |
| Pacific |
2 |
4 |
3 |
2 |
11 |
Goals
UCSB -- Vincze 6, Golic 4, Bishop 3, Olds 2, Castillo 2, Baliani, Smith, Partelow.
Pacific -- Tomasevic 3, Morrison 3, Gulikson 2, DeLong, Rossi, Bartlett.
Assists
Pacific: Rossi 3.
Steals
Pacific: Bartlett 2.
Goalkeeper Saves
UCSB:Bunn 10, Christian 2.
Pacific: Andrus 5.
