Berkeley, Calif. - The No. 4 Pacific men's water polo team posted a 9-8 win over No. 5 Stanford to advance to the NorCal semifinals Saturday at the Mountain Pacific Invitational at Cal. Devon Thumwood scored three goals, with four assists.
Two of Thumwood's four assists came on Pacific's final two goals, as Engin Ege Colak and Tim Reeves posted fourth quarter goals for a 9-7 lead and the Tigers held on behind 16 saves from goalie Alen Osmanovic.
The Tigers remained undefeated at 11-0, and hand Stanford (6-2) the Cardinal's second loss of the year. Pacific moves on to the semifinals against No. 1 UCLA (13-0) at 3:10 p.m.
Colak finished with two goals, while Reeves, Aleksandar Petrovic, and Ikko Saito each added one.
Stanford scored on the Cardinal's first possession as Blake Parrish tallied, but Thumwood immediately answered off an assist from Petrovic. Cody Smith put Stanford on top, 2-1, with 2:44 to go in the first but Pavillard finished off a Thumwood pass to cap a 6-on-5 power play.
In the second, Thumwood's second gave the Tigers a 3-2 lead and Saito hit the back of the cage off an assist from Petrovic as the Tigers led 4-2. But back-to-back goals from Stanford's Mitchell Mendoza tied the game at 4-4 with 2:26 to go before halftime.
Out of the break, Engin Ege Colak scored off a Pacific sprint win, as Thumwood provided the assist for a 5-4 Tigers' lead. Colak then drew an exclusion and Thumwood capped the power play with a goal off a feed from Petrovic for a two-goal margin. After a field block, Petrovic provided a 7-4 lead as the Tigers reeled off three goals in the first 1:54 of the quarter.
The Cardinal answered as Sam Pfeil tallied goals on two straight Stanford 6-on-5 opportunities. Pfeil's third straight goal came seconds after a power-play expired to tie the game at 7-7 with 2:11 left in the third.
Thumwood set up Colak at the 6:38 mark to give the Tigers the lead. After Reeves finished a Thumwood pass with 5:53 to go giving Pacific a 9-7 lead, the Tigers buckled down defensively and stopped Stanford on six of the final seven possessions, as Osmanovic recorded four saves to preserve the win.
