STOCKTON, Calif. – The No. 6 Pacific men's water polo team had plenty to prove on Saturday as it opened Golden Coast Conference play against No. 10 San Jose State. The Tigers opened up the season with a 12-11 overtime win against the Spartans and since they have played four teams ranked ahead of them in the national polls. The Tigers flexed its muscle and showed the development within its offensive and defensive efforts with an all-around 12-8 win over the Spartans at the Chris Kjeldsen Pool.
 
How it happened:
• Pacific started the game, jumping out to a 6-0 lead. 
• Bogdan Djerkovic scored two of his team-high four goals in the early run.
• San Jose State cut into the Pacific lead with three goals – two of which before halftime.
• With a 6-3 lead, Reuel D' Souza got the Tigers back on the scoreboard with a goal with 7:11 in the third quarter for his second goal of the contest.
• The two teams traded goals back and forth for the remainder of the contest.
 
Coach's Corner:
"The first time that we played we had less than two weeks together. We had a bunch of guys that really don't know each other and really didn't know how we play. That game was crazy, to be honest having to win in overtime. Now we've been able together for a little over a month and we've been able to get organized with tough games under our belt. We have played the top 14 teams every weekend for the last five weekends. As a result, we have been very seasoned. We knew what we needed to do to be successful. We did a lot of prep, this week. We really focused on our defensive side of things. That is what I was most proud of today in how we started the game today. We really controlled the defensive end and keeping them scoreless for a long period of time. It was a great team effort."

Final Stats:
• Five saves for Pacific goalkeeper John Hedges
• Pacific goals: Bogdan Djerkovic (4), Jeremie Cote (2), Reuel D'Souza (2), Eli Lule (2), Djorde Stanic (1) and Calvin Behm (1)

Up Next:
The Tigers will host UCSB on Saturday, Oct. 16 at the Chris Kjeldsen Pool. The Gauchos and the Tigers faced each other on Sunday, Sept. 26 with UCSB coming away with a 14-6 win. 

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