LONG BEACH, Calif.- The No. 3 Pacific men's water polo team (14-3, 3-0) pulled off yet another nailbiting victory after defeating No. 6 Long Beach State, 13-12, on Friday night.
 
Aiming to push their win streak to three games, the Tigers secured the one point victory on a goal from Engin Ege Colak with just two seconds left in the match. With the win, Pacific remains atop the GCC standings as the only team still undefeated in conference play.
 
 
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW:

• Djordje Stanic tied his career-high with four goals in the match, pacing the Tiger offense with four total points. The freshman from Belgrade, Serbia had previously netted four goals in Pacific's 19-11 win over LMU on Sept. 27.
• With Stanic leading the way, four other Tigers scored two goals in the match: Luis Araya, Jeremie Cote, Andrea De Nardi and Colak.
• In two of their last three matches, Pacific has found the game-winning goal with less than 15 seconds remaining in the contest, having previously defeated No. 5 UCSB (Oct. 20), 17-16, on a highlight-reel goal from Araya with twelves seconds left on the game clock.

 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

• The Tigers came up clutch when they needed to, converting both of their five-meter penalty shots in the match.
• Displaying their speed throughout, Pacific won all four sprints over the 49ers.
• Redshirt freshman Jonathan Barry notched seven saves and four steals in route to his 14^th victory of the season.

 
FIRST PERIOD:

• Kicking the scoring off, Stanic scored the first of his four goals at the 6:15 mark to give Pacific an early 1-0 lead.
• Less than a minute later, Colak tallied his first of the match on an assist from Cote, extending the Tiger lead to 2-0.
• Despite one goal scored by LBSU at 1:27, UOP held a 2-1 advantage over the 49ers after the opening frame.

 
SECOND PERIOD:

• Looking to take command, the Tigers scored four consecutive goals in the first three minutes of the second period as Cote, Stanic, Araya and redshirt junior Luke Pavillard all found the back of the net to put Pacific ahead 6-2.
• LBSU would counter with two goals of their own to cut the UOP lead in half, but Stanic responded once again, netting his third of the half at 3:36 to solidify the hat trick and give the Tigers a 7-4 lead heading in the halftime break.

 
THIRD PERIOD:

• Aiming to keep the momentum from the first half, Araya scored his second goal of the match at the 6:13 mark to keep Pacific in front of LBSU by three.
• Joining the goal party, Andrea De Nardi netted his 19^th of the season at 4:18, making the score 9-6 in favor of the Tigers.
• Closing out the period in style, De Nardi and Stanic both scored in the final three minutes to give UOP an 11-8 lead after three periods of play.

 
FOURTH PERIOD:

• Trying to close out yet another victory over a top-ranked opponent, Cote found the back of the net for the second time just 44 seconds into the final frame, pushing the Tiger lead to four.
• Unfortunately, Pacific's defense would lose focus down the stretch as LBSU tied the match at 12 with 1:46 remaining in the match.
• Providing yet another special moment, Colak scored the game-winning goal with two seconds left to give UOP the lead for good. The Tigers would then lock down on defense one final time, securing the 13-12 victory over LBSU to move to 3-0 in GCC play.

 
UP NEXT: Pacific will return home to Chris Kjeldsen Pool as the Tigers host UC Irvine on Saturday, Nov. 9 at 1:00 pm. Following their defeat of the 49ers, UOP is looking to remain undefeated in conference play in their matchup against the Anteaters. Video and live stats links are available on pacifictigers.com.
 
FOLLOW US: For updates and more information on Pacific men's water polo, be sure to follow along on Twitter @UOPWaterPoloU, Instagram @PacificWaterPolo and on Facebook @PacificMensWaterPolo.