STOCKTON, Calif. – Three-different Tigers (Bogdan Djerkovic, Jeremie Cote and Reuel D'Souza) scored multiple goals and goalkeeper John Hedges came away with 13 saves as the No. 7 Pacific men's water polo team defeated No. 6 UCSB, 9-8 on Saturday at the Chris Kjeldsen Pool. 

The victory for Pacific avenges a 14-6 loss to UCSB in the fifth-place matchup at the 2021 MPSF Invite on Sept. 26 in Berkeley. 

How it Happened:
• The Tigers overcame an early 1-0 deficit to score four-straight on a pair of goals by D'Souza as well as a goal each from Calvin Behm, D' Souza and Djerkovic put Pacific ahead early.  
• Sam Nangle scored his second goal of the game for the Gauchos to cut the Tigers' lead to 5-2 with 5:59 left in the opening half.
• Cote came right back for the Tigers and put one to the back of the net to put Pacific ahead 6-2 with 5:37 left. 
• UCSB made it a one-goal game when Connor MacDonald scored just before the end of the third quarter as the Tigers held an 8-7 lead.
• The Tigers went back up by two, 9-7, as Djorde Stanic scored on the power play with 5:25 left in the final quarter.
• Hedges came up with three saves in the final quarter to preserve the 9-8 win for the Tigers.

Goal Scorers:
UCSB Goals: S.Nangle (3), S.Rhodes, C.Brosnan, A.Gyenis, N.Puentes, C.Macdonald 
Pacific Goals: B.Djerkovic (2), J.Cote (2), R.D'Souza (2), D.Stanic, C.Behm, E.Lule 

Records: 
Pacific – 7-7 overall, 2-0 GCC 
UCSB – 15-6 overall, 0-2 GCC

Coach James Graham on the win:
"This was a big opportunity. We played better in the first half than our earlier meeting. Our last quarter defense was some of the best that I have seen. We had to play some man down defense as well. I like that. We were in foul trouble from the beginning. But, we played as a team and this is a big team win. UCSB is a great team and they are one of the best teams in the country. To get this win right now under our belt is a lot of momentum in conference and a lot of our confidence, as well." 

Up Next:
Pacific will host No. 1 UCLA on Sunday at 1 p.m. at the Chris Kjeldsen Pool.