Stockton, Calif. - Ikko Saito's fourth quarter goal gave the No. 8 Pacific men's water polo team an 8-7 win over No. 7 UC Santa Barbara Sunday at Chris Kjeldsen Pool.
Devon Thumwood scored a hat trick and the Tigers never trailed in the contest, improving to 13-9 overall on the season and posting Pacific's first MPSF win of the year.
Krisztian Laczkovics added two goals, while J.T. Sarmento and Ben Stevenson each tallied once. Chris Hughes posted five saves in goal for the Tigers.
Laczkovics gave the Tigers a 1—0 lead, sneaking a shot inside the far post into the top corner at the 6:06 mark. Shane Hauschild knotted things up after a 6-on-5 expired, as he rose and fired to make it a 1-1 game.
Thumwood converted a 6-on-5, finishing cross-cage for a 2-1 Pacific lead with 1:45 left in the quarter.
Stevenson took the feed in the two-meter from Thumwood and put the back-hand shot over the line for a 3-1 lead.
Hughes posted the save to open the second quarter, and after a long rebound following a field block, Hughes found Thumwood who ripped a sharp-angled sot for a 4-1 lead.
Kevin Cappon answered for UCSB from distance, finding the upper corner fro seven meters away. Hauschild finished cross cage with 5:17 left in the second to pull the Gauchos within 4-3.
J.T. Sarmento restored the two-goal lead when he finished from inside at the 5:17 mark. But Ryan Baliani tapped home a re-direct on a 6-on-5 to answer for UCSB. Liam Gaughan snuck a shot just over the line on a 6-on-5 with 27 seconds left in the quarter as the Gauchos came back to tie the game at 5-5 before the half.
The Tigers drew a five-meter penalty, and Laczkovics buried it for a 6-5 lead. UCSB snuck a shot over the line after the initial save to tie it, but Thumwood's third gave Pacific a 7-6 lead with 1:36 to play in the period.
Santa Barbara knotted the score at 7-7 on a goal by Brendan McElroy with 4:36 left in the quarter.
Ikko Saito's skip shot went bar-down for a 8-7 lead with 3:32 to play, as he finish from five meters away to the near side.
Kale Ai defended an entry pass with under two minutes left, killing off a UCSB 6-on-5. Stevenson came away with a steal in the final seconds of UCSB's last possession.
UCSB falls to 9-11 overall and 0-6 in MPSF action. The Tigers have won back-to-back meetings with UCSB this season, 8-7 in both contests. Pacific needed overtime to top the Gauchos 8-7 at the SoCal seventh place game.
Pacific is back in action next Saturday, at home as the Tigers welcome No. 1 UCLA to Kjeldsen Pool for a noon contest (live on TheW.tv). The Tigers are unbeaten in regulation in their last two home games against opponents ranked No. 1 in the polls.
