STOCKTON, Calif. – The #5 nationally-ranked Pacific men's water polo team takes on #1 California in Berkeley on September 9 at 5 p.m. 

The Tigers, who have won their first five games of the season, are off to their best start since the 2019 campaign, when the team won 10 straight games to begin the season. Earning four wins over nationally-ranked opponents this past weekend at the Bruno Classic, the Tigers used a balanced attack that saw three players score 10 or more goals.

In five contests, Matthew Hosmer leads the team in goals with 16, while Reuel D'Souza and Bogdan Djerkovic tallied 12 goals apiece. 

The Tigers have battled the Bears 31 times since the 2005 season, including facing off twice during the 2021 season. The Tigers dropped a narrow 13-11 decision in the second matchup last season against the Bears as Djerkovic, and Jeremie Cote combined for seven goals.

"We're very excited at the opportunity to play the number one team in the nation, the defending national champions, in their home pool at the site of the NCAA championships this year," said Head Coach James Graham. "We are well aware of the David and Goliath matchup, but I have enormous belief in this team's ability to beat anyone on any given day. We're looking forward to testing ourselves against the number one team in the country."

The Tigers went east and came home with five straight wins to start the season. The Tigers averaged 16.8 goals per game and only allowed 7.4 in the five victories, four against top-20 programs. The Tigers opened the trip with wins over No. 13 CBU (16-7) and No. 20 St. Francis-NY (22-9), as Hosmer scored seven goals on the day. In Sunday's sweep, Reuel D'Souza, Mihailo Vukazic and Jeremie Cote each scored three times for the Tigers in the win over No. 17 Fordham (13-7), while Calvin Behm scored three in the win over Wagner (16-7). In the final game of the trip against No. 19 Brown (17-7), Hosmer had five goals, and senior Joey MacLeane was in the net for the defensive effort, limiting the Bears to just two goals in each of the first two periods, and they did not score in the fourth.

Week one of the 2022 Collegiate Water Polo Association Men's Varsity Coaches' Poll has Pacific ranked fifth with 80 points.

Live stream: https://pac-12.com/live/university-california-4
Live stats: https://www.thefosh.net/live/13181

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