Oct. 26, 2008
DAVIS, Calif. -
UC Davis 12, Air Force 10 (Scoresheet) 
Long Beach State 12, Air Force 9 (Scoresheet)
Long Beach State 9, UC Davis 7 (Scoresheet)
No. 10 Long Beach State capitalized on early counterattack scoring to ride a 4-1 lead to a 9-7 victory over No. 11 UC Davis in the third of three men's collegiate water polo games at Schaal Aquatics Center Sunday. The host Aggies opened the day with a 12-10 Western Water Polo Association win over No. 20 Air Force, then LBSU added a 12-9 victory over the Falcons in a neutral-site contest in early-afternoon action.
UC Davis moves to 9-11 for the year, and improves to 6-2 against WWPA opposition.
A trio of Aggies -- Aaron Salit, Jim Breen and Adam Bennett -- each scored two goals in Sunday morning's win over Air Force. Sophomore Walter Eggert scored three 6-on-5 goals in the nightcap against Long Beach State, all in the second half.
The 49ers dominated the up-and-down nature of the first period, shooting 4-for-10 to take a 4-1 lead in the opening quarter. From there, UC Davis clamped down defensively and began capitalizing on what would end as an 11-to-5 margin in 6-on-5 opportunities. Breen posted two steals on two-meter defense and converted a five-meter penalty shot on the offensive end in the second period. The 49ers committed turnovers on five straight possessions in that frame until Jordan Koeppen scored on yet another counterattack with 1:42 remaining in the half. LBSU took a 5-2 lead into the intermission.
UC Davis redshirt freshman Kevin Peat stopped three 6-on-5 attempts while Eggert scored on back-to-back power plays in the third period, helping the Aggies trim the deficit to 6-4 through 24 minutes of play. Sophomore Cory Lyle then hit an outside shot to open the fourth, bringing the LBSU lead to just 6-5. But Jake Kinne converted a 6-on-5 opportunity at the 7:02 mark and Aleksander Petrovic tacked on a natural goal to stretch the 49er lead back to three.
Trailing 9-7, UC Davis had possession with 37 seconds left, hoping for a final stretch run to force an overtime. However, senior center Kevin vanHaaster's steal ended the Aggie threat with 17 seconds remaining. LBSU drained the final ticks to seal the win.
In Sunday's opener, UC Davis scored five unanswered goals in the second period to craft a 7-4 lead. Then Air Force scrambled back, tying the contest at 8-8 when junior defender Jason Fung hit a third-chance effort early in the fourth period. But the Aggies immediately regained the lead as Salit hit his second goal of the game with 6:29 remaining. Lyle finished a counterattack 25 seconds later to bump the lead to 10-8.
Senior driver Grant Muenter put on a one-man show in the final minutes to help seal the win. He posted a steal at midtank, then immediately drew an exclusion by Bobby Geiger. Shortly after, he scored a goal off the head of Air Force keeper David Ostrom to ice the game at 12-9.
In Sunday's neutral-site action, a trio of 49ers each had two goals to lead LBSU to the 12-9 win over Air Force. Senior two-meter defender Kevin Williams led the Falcons with four goals, bringing his Sunday total to seven scores.
Senior Jake Kinne, junior Jeff Greenwood and freshman Shane Luth each had two goals for the Beach. LBSU ran up a 5-1 lead by the midway point of the second period, then saw its lead diminish to 5-3 by the halftime break. Bobby Geiger and Alex Churnside converted man-up opportunities for Air Force to tie the game at 5-5, then the two teams traded scores to bring the score to 6-6 with 2:32 remaining in the third period.
The Beach pulled away in the final minute of that third quarter, first on an Aleksander Petrovic 6-on-5 goal, then on Shane Luth's rebound and putback with 20 ticks remaining, sending the 49ers into the fourth with a two-goal edge.
The Aggies' Peat and the 49ers' Derek Wiebe-Bailey each tallied 15 saves in two games for their respective teams.
UC Davis returns to action on Thursday, hosting Stanford for a 6 p.m. game at Schaal Aquatics Center.
| #20 Air Force | 3 | 1 | 3 | 3 | - | 10 |
| #11 UC Davis | 2 | 5 | 1 | 4 | - | 12 |
GOALS - AFA: Kevin Williams 3, Matt Versage 2, Tyler Hewko 2, Bobby Geiger 1, Kurt Lemmen 1, Jason Fung 1. UC Davis: Aaron Salit 2, Jim Breen 2, Adam Bennett 2, Matt Richardson 1, Paul Wilson 1, Adam Lindsay 1, Ryan Hagens 1, Cory Lyle 1, Grant Muenter 1.
GOALIE SAVES - AFA: David Ostrom 6 (32:00). UC Davis: Kevin Peat 6 (32:00).
| #20 Air Force (12-12) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | - | 9 |
| #10 Long Beach State | 4 | 1 | 3 | 4 | - | 12 |
GOALS - AFA: Kevin Williams 4, Alex Churnside 2, Kurt Lemmen 1, Bobby Geiger 1, Miles McMillan 1. LBSU: Jeff Greenwood 2, Jake Kinne 2, Shane Luth 2, Jordan Koeppen 1, Kevin Mundia 1, Ashley Blythen 1, Aleksander Petrovic 1, Pavle Filipovic 1, Kevin vanHaaster 1.
GOALIE SAVES - AFA: David Ostrom 5 (32:00). LBSU: Derek Wiebe-Bailey 4 (32:00).
| #10 Long Beach State (11-11) | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | - | 9 |
| #11 UC Davis (9-11) | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | - | 7 |
GOALS - LBSU: Jake Kinne 2, Pavle Filopovic 1, Kevin vanHaaster 1, Taylor Clute 1, Jordan Koeppen 1, Kevin Mundia 1, Jeff Green wood 1, Aleksander Petrovic 1. UC Davis: Walter Eggert 3, Paul Wilson 1, Jim Breen 1, Cory Lyle 1, Grant Muenter 1.
GOALIE SAVES - LBSU: Derek Wiebe-Bailey 11 (32:00). UC Davis: Kevin Peat 9 (32:00).
