Oct. 6, 2007
DAVIS, Calif. - Cal senior attacker Michael Sharf and UC Davis hole set Paul Wilson each scored six goals as the No. 2-ranked Golden Bears claimed a wild 17-12 win over the No. 9 Aggies in the first-day finale of the Aggie Shootout collegiate men's water polo tournament at Schaal Aquatics Center Saturday.
Wilson's goals total doubles his previous career-high mark of three, set against UC San Diego earlier this season. UC Davis defeated Harvard in Saturday's earlier action to extend its win streak to 10 games, the longest in the program's recorded history. The Aggies are now 13-5 for the season.
UC Davis held a 2-0 lead over the defending national champions, thanks to two early goals from senior Nick Arrigo. But the Golden Bears scored five unanswered to take a 5-2 lead, extended their edge to 8-4 at the halftime break, then went up by an 11-5 margin midway through the third quarter. Sharf had five of his goals in the first half, including two on 6-on-5 chances.
Wilson hit his fourth goal on a man-up situation in the fourth that helped UC Davis approach to within a 13-9 deficit. However, Cal responded with a run of three straight to pad the lead to 16-9 with just under a minute remaining. Sharf scored his sixth goal at the 3:26 mark, sophomore Scott Cruikshank added another at 1:43 and freshman Brian Dudley struck with 57 seconds to account for the run.
Then with 32 seconds remaining in the game, the two teams became invoved in a scuffle in the water. After order was restored in the water and on the pool deck, the officials deliberated for a few minutes, then issued a total of five game exclusions for brutality - one against UC Davis, four against Cal. The bookings came in addition to the three misconduct exclusions levied earlier in the contest.
As a result of the melee, Golden Bear senior Jeff Tyrrell hit his five-penalty shot to extend the lead to 17-9. Wilson hit two of his three penalty attempts to lift his goals total to six, then junior driver Grant Muenter converted the fourth Aggie attempt to cut the lead to 17-12. The two teams played the remaining half-minute without incident, and Cal held on to the victory.
Arrigo finished with three goals for UC Davis, all before the break. Junior Adam Bennett scored a pair of 6-on-5 goals to round out the Aggie scoring.
For Cal, senior Vladislav Andreyev scored three goals, comprising two 6-on-5 shots and one five-meter conversion. Tyrrell finished with two scores, while six other Golden Bears had one each.
In earlier Aggie action, junior Grant Muenter and Matt Richardson each scored two goals while senior goalie Mike McGee had 10 saves to help UC Davis pull away to a 10-5 win over the Crimson. Spencer Livingston scored two goal to lead Harvard. Jay Connolly notched 11 saves in the Crimson cage.
Cal was the only of the four teams in the Shootout to post a 2-0 Saturday. Air Force, one of UC Davis' leaguemates in the Western Water Polo Association, split its tournament games. The Falcons suffered an 11-2 loss to the Bears to start the day's action, then rode hat tricks by Justin Berry and Alex Churnside in a 12-4 win over Harvard.
UC Davis and Air Force will face off at 10 a.m. Sunday to conclude the two-day tournament.
AGGIE SHOOTOUT WATER POLO TOURNAMENT, DAY ONE
October 6, 2007
| #2 California | 2 | 1 | 3 | 5 | - | 11 |
| #16 Air Force | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | - | 2 |
GOALS - Cal: Vladislav Andreyev 4, Michael Sharf 2, Spencer Warden 2, Adam Haley 2, Jeff Tyrrell 1. AFA: Clark Condict 1, Justin Berry 1.
GOALIE SAVES - Cal: Mark Sheredy 6, Jacob Macintosh 1. AFA: David Ostrom 7.
| Harvard | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | 5 |
| #9 UC Davis | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | - | 10 |
GOALS - Harvard: Spencer Livingston 2, Chris Ludwick 1, Bret Voith 1, Mitch Denti 1. UC Davis: Grant Muenter 2, Matt Richardson 2, Nick Arrigo 1, Walter Eggert 1, Jesse Tweed 1, Adam Bennett 1, Danny Driscoll 1, Mattie Stone 1.
GOALIE SAVES - Harvard: Jay Connolly 11. UC Davis: Mike McGee 8.
| Harvard | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | - | 4 |
| #16 Air Force | 2 | 3 | 4 | 3 | - | 12 |
GOALS - Harvard: Spencer Livingston 2, Chris Ludwick 1, Brian Kuczynski 1. AFA: Justin Berry 3, Alex Churnside 3, Clark Condict 2, Kevin Williams 2, Tyler Hewko 1, Jason Fung 1.
GOALIE SAVES - Harvard: Jay Connolly 9. AFA: David Ostrom 7.
| #2 California | 3 | 5 | 4 | 5 | - | 17 |
| #9 UC Davis | 2 | 2 | 3 | 5 | - | 12 |
GOALS - Cal: Michael Sharf 6, Vladislav Andreyev 3, Jeff Tyrrell 2, Mike Hayes 1, Spencer Warden 1, Zac Monsees 1, Zachary White 1, Brian Dudley 1, Scott Cruikshank 1. UC Davis: Paul Wilson 6, Nick Arrigo 3, Adam Bennett 2, Grant Muenter 1.
GOALIE SAVES - Cal: Mark Sheredy 7, Jacob MacIntosh 1. UC Davis: Mike McGee 6.
