STOCKTON, Calif.- The No. 3 Pacific men's water polo team was defeated by No. 1 Stanford, 11-8, on Sunday afternoon at Chris Kjeldsen Pool.
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The Tigers jumped out to an early 4-1 lead at the 2:18 mark in the first quarter but ultimately fell victim to a strong second quarter from the Cardinal in the loss.
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WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW:
- Six different Tigers scored for Pacific throughout the match, with Luke Pavillard and Andrea De Nardi leading the way with two goals each.
- Freshman standout Matthew Hosmer continued to impress as the Stockton native has now scored at least one goal in every match this season (1 today vs. Stanford). He is currently tied for fourth on the team in goals (26) and total points (33).
- The Tigers have only dropped two games on the season so far. Both losses have come at the hands of Stanford, when the Cardinal have been ranked No. 3 and No. 1 in the nation respectively. Overall, Pacific was outscored by Stanford, 26-22, in the two matches.
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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
- UOP outshot Stanford 37-32 overall, but the Cardinal compiled a better shooting percentage (.344%) than the Tigers (.216).
- Luke Pavillard paced Pacific's offense yet again as the redshirt junior from Perth, Australia scored two more goals on Sunday, adding to his team-high to reach 35 total goals on the season.
- Goalie Jon Barry held the edge in saves, 11-8, over Stanford's Andrew Chun.
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FIRST PERIOD:
- Stanford was able to jump out to an early 1-0 lead as they scored within the first 25 seconds of the match, but Pacific responded shortly thereafter, tying up the match on an Andrea De Nardi goal at the 6:57 mark.
- Playing in their second top-10 matchup of the weekend, the Tigers used the support of their home crowd to take a 4-2 lead by the end of the first period De Nardi scored for a second time on an assist from senior Luis Araya at 4:11.
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SECOND PERIOD:
- The Cardinal would come out of the break and tie the match with two goals in the period's first three minutes. Keeping pace, Pacific regained the lead at 3:53 when reigning GCC Player of the Week Jeremie Cote found the back of the opposing net to put the Tigers ahead, 5-4.
- Stanford's offense would kick into gear as the Cardinal outscored UOP 5-1 in the second quarter, giving the nation's number one team a 7-5 lead heading into the locker room at halftime.
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THIRD PERIOD:
- After discussing their gameplan at halftime, Pacific would tie the game at 3:37 as Araya scored for the eighth time this season on an assist from Hosmer. Pavillard also notched his second goal of the contest at 5:26.
- The Tigers would outscore the Cardinal, 2-1, in the third, but Stanford led at the end of the period after a goal from Tyler Abramson gave the visitors an 8-7 lead at the 1:37 mark.
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FOURTH PERIOD:
- Staying within striking distance, UOP faced an uphill battle in the fourth as two Stanford goals in the period's first two minutes gave the Cardinal a 10-7.
- Aiming to comeback in their home pool, Ege Colak scored at 3:30 to bring the Tigers within two points of Stanford.
- Ultimately, Abramson's goal at the 3:01 would prove to seal the match for the Cardinal as Pacific fell to Stanford by a final score of 11-8.
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UP NEXT:
Pacific will be back in action when they host USC on Saturday, Oct. 12 at Chris Kjeldsen Pool. The Tigers previously defeated the No.5 ranked Trojans, 16-15, on Sept. 28 in their second match at the MPSF Invitational. Video stream and live stats can be followed live at game time on pacifictigers.com.
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