Nov. 7, 2008
Los Angeles, Calif.- The Pacific mens' water polo team took part in their most difficult game of the season on Friday Nov. 7, as they faced the No. 1 USC Trojans on the road in a battle of Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) teams. The Tigers played well, but could not edge out USC as they fell 12-6 in the contest. The loss moves the Tigers to 10-17 overall and 0-5 in the MPSF, while USC remained perfect on the year, advancing to 21-0 and 6-0 in MPSF play.
Pacific started out the contest with a tough battle in the water. The Tigers' defense rose to the challenge of the Trojans, holding the USC offense in check for much of the first period. Despite giving up an early goal, Pacific remained strong until the very end of the quarter, when Shea Buckner scored with: 14 left in the period to give USC a 2-0 lead in the period.
Within striking distance of the Trojans, Pacific started off strong to begin the second quarter. Senior Evan Garcia (Seabrook, Texas) cut into USC's lead with a 6-on-5 conversion at the 6:38 point to cut the lead to 2-1. Using their momentum from Garcia's goal, the Tigers struck again and evened the score at two a piece with a 5-meter penalty shot from sophomore Austin Delong (Houston, Texas). USC's offense turned it on after the Tiger push, and rattled off three straight goals over the next two minutes to retake the lead 5-2.
Pacific was not done however as they refused to let the Trojans extend their lead further as junior Grant Hollis (Redlands, Calif.) scored on another 6-on-5 conversion for the Tigers with 2:54 remaining in the period to make it 5-3. USC again went on the offensive as they scored twice more before the end of the quarter to head into halftime with a 7-3 lead over Pacific.
The second half started off shaky for the Tigers, as USC continued its scoring run to take a 10-3 lead off three unanswered goals in the first three minutes of the quarter. Freshman Tyler Reardon (Oak Park, Calif.) scored for the Tigers to make it 10-4, but USC scored three seconds later to extend the lead once again. The Tigers continued to play hard, as freshman Timothy Urrea (Los Angeles, Calif.) netted his first goal of the night to cut the lead to 11-5.
The Tigers held pace with the Trojans over the final period, as Hollis again scored for the Tigers to match USC's Anthony Artukovich's goal earlier in the period to settle the score at 12-6. The period wound down with the Tigers suffering a hard-fought loss to the top team in the country, 12-6.
|
Q1 |
Q2 |
Q3 |
Q4 |
Total |
| Pacific |
0 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
6 |
| USC |
2 |
5 |
4 |
1 |
12 |
Scoring
Pacific-Hollis - 2, Garcia - 1, Delong - 1, Reardon - 1, Urrea - 1
USC- Buckner - 3, Jovan Vranes - 2, Artukovich - 2, Justin Rappel - 1, J.W. Krumpholz - 1, Matt Sagehorn - 1, Peter Kurzeka - 1, Nico Sardo - 1
Saves
Pacific - Brian Domecus - 9
USC - Joel Dennerley - 5, Brett Giery - 6
The Tigers are in action again next weekend as they hit the road for a matchup against No. 9 UC Irvine on Nov. 15 at 12:00 pm.
