SAN JOSE, Calif. – In a back-and-forth, high-scoring contest on the final day of the Julian Fraser Memorial Tournament, the #15 Pacific men's water polo team dropped a hard-fought game in overtime to #18 Harvard, 22-19, Sunday at Spartan Recreation and Aquatic Center.
The Tigers finish the Julian Fraser Memorial Tournament with a 1-2 record, holding a 11-8 record overall. The Crimson improve to 18-3 on the year.
"It was definitely a tough loss," said freshman
Spencer Burdack. "We battled hard, and it was neck-and-neck the whole game. At the end, a few things didn't work out and the results didn't go our way."
Burdack led the Tigers with a team-best five goals, which also set a season-high for the left-handed attacker from Newcastle, Australia. Fifth-year senior
Rene Peralta carried the torch offensively, making key passes all morning to tally a career-high six assists and eight points.
"It was a total team effort," said Burdack. "We were all working for each other."
Junior
Gil Gvishi extended his season-long point streak to 19 games with his eighth hat trick of the year. Junior
Filip Norell joined in on the scoring parade, tying a season-high with four goals on six shots.
In goal, the Tigers rotated between senior
Lewis Gale, freshman
John Winters and freshman
Benjamin Gronbach. Gronbach started the first period before Gale took over in the second frame. Winters began the second half, followed by Gronbach closing out the match in the fourth quarter and overtime period. Gronbach made a season-high six saves in just his fourth appearance of the year.
A high-flying first period saw the Tigers and Crimson deadlocked at five goals apiece. Harvard took a slight edge into halftime, 10-9.
Pacific readjusted and swung the momentum in its favor, outscoring the Crimson 5-4 in the third frame to level the playing field at 14-14.
After a quick-paced fourth period where both teams traded five goals, overtime was required for the first time this year for the Tigers.
Harvard was able to find the back of the net three times during the overtime portion while the Crimson defense stood tall, not allowing a goal, and eventually earning a 22-19 win.
The Tigers return to action next week at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 26 against #3 Stanford.
