Davis, Calif. - The No. 6 Pacific men's water polo team defeated No. 10 UC Davis 10-5 in a nonconference road match Friday, Oct. 7, at the Schaal Aquatics Complex.
The Tigers improve to 9-5 with the win while the Aggies drop to 16-6 on the year.
"I was very pleased with our performance tonight," Pacific head coach James Graham said. "Going up against a strong UC Davis team, I thought it was some of the best water polo we've played this season."
Pacific tallied the first goal of the match when sophomore Balazs Erdelyi found the back of the cage. After UC Davis answered with a score of its own, goals from senior Todd Hazen and Erdelyi gave the Tigers a 3-1 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Junior Goran Tomasevic netted early in the second to give Pacific a 4-1 advantage. The two squads would go on to trade a pair of goals, as scores from senior Jasper Visser and Tomasevic put Pacific ahead at 6-3 heading into intermission.
The Tigers extended their lead to 7-3 on a six-on-five goal from senior Daniel Lungu. A Tomasevic goal late in the third quarter gave Pacific a five-score lead with one quarter to play. The Tigers locked down on defense as well, holding the Aggies scoreless in the third frame.
UC Davis would put away two shots in the fourth quarter but could not stop the Tigers' offense, as Visser and Erdelyi both scored to seal the win.
Erdelyi and Tomasevic led all scorers with three goals apiece. For Erdelyi, it was his eighth consecutive multi-goal outing. Visser recorded his first multi-goal match of the season thanks to his two scores.
Manning the cage for the Tigers was sophomore Alex Malkis. He registered 10 saves on the night, his seventh double-figure block match of 2011. Malkis anchored a Pacific defense that held the Aggies to their lowest point total of the season.
"I thought our defense was impressive tonight," Graham continued.
The Aggies got each of their goals from a different player. Senior goalkeeper Kevin Peat tallied six saves.
Pacific is off until Sunday, Oct. 16, when it travels to Pepperdine for its Mountain Pacific Sports Federation opener. Match time is set for 1 p.m.
| |
1st Q |
2nd Q |
3rd Q |
4th Q |
FINAL |
| Pacific |
3 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
10 |
| UC Davis |
1 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
5 |
Goals
Pacific - Erdelyi 3, Tomasevic 3, Visser 2, Hazen, Lungu
UC Davis - Collins, Hampton, Hicks, Rogers, Salit
Goalkeeper Saves
Pacific - Malkis 10, Hughes 2
UC Davis - 6
