Oct. 13, 2013

DAVIS, Calif. - Junior utility Chris Richardson scored four goals in each end of Sunday's doubleheader while junior attacker Trevor Allen hit the game-winner with 64 seconds remaining in the 11th-place game against St. Francis of Brooklyn, highlighting UC Davis' second-day action at the UCI Invitational water polo tournament at Corona Del Mar High School. The Aggies lost to No. 8 Pepperdine by a 10-8 final in their early game then edged SFC, 9-8, in the finale.

The Aggies move to 7-8 for the year.

Allen totaled four goals for the day, adding a hat trick against the Waves in the morning setback. Senior Bernie Rogers was the only other UC Davis player to score in each contest. Allen's go-ahead goal in the afternoon contest helped the Aggies spoil a valiant comeback effort by the Terriers. Richardson had scored on a five-meter penalty shot and a natural goal to spark UC Davis to a 4-1 start through the first quarter. He completed his hat trick in the second quarter on a 6-on-5 shot but SFC rallied to just a 6-5 deficit at halftime.

UC Davis freshman Max Vigeant and St. Francis junior Vuk Vujosevic traded goals in the third to maintain the one-goal margin, then Richardson netted another penalty shot on the first possession of the fourth quarter to bump the Aggie edge to 8-6. But Vujosevic completed a power play and senior center Bosko Stankovic hit a natural two minutes later to equalize with 3:48 left. It took nearly three full minutes before either team could crack the tie, with Allen doing the honors with 1:04 to go.

The win over St. Francis helped the Aggies offset a relatively heartbreaking loss to Pepperdine earlier in the day. Allen's first goal of the contest gave UC Davis a 2-1 lead in the first. After Danny White and Luke Hewko posted back-to-back goals to push the Waves out to a 3-2 lead, Allen struck again with consecutive goals. The Aggies held a 4-3 lead at the break then pulled ahead by two when Richardson hit a five-meter with 6:49 to go in the third.

UC Davis held two more two-goal leads in the third frame. Richardon hit an even-strength goal with 4:11 left and Rogers converted a penalty shot at 3:28, the latter of which set the board at 7-5. Pepperdine drew a five-meter on the next possession and Marko Madaras hit the charity shot to halve the deficit with 3:16 remaining.

Hewko then posted four goals in the final quarter, including a 6-on-5 conversion with 2:13 left that knotted the score at 8-8. He supplied the game-winner with 38 seconds remaining, then added his sixth goal at the buzzer to help the Waves avoid the upset.

UC Davis returns home to host No. 3 Pacific for a 6 p.m. game on Friday, Oct. 18.

GOALS - UC Davis: Chris Richardson 4, Trevor Allen 3, Bernie Rogers 1. Pepperdine: Luke Hewko 6, Marko Madaras 3, Danny White 1.

GOALS - SFC: Bosko Stankovic 3, Vuk Vujosevic 2, Liam Veazey 1, Balint Toth 1, Ilija Djuretic 1. UC Davis: Chris Richardson 4, Bernie Rogers 1, Mark Coufal 1, Teddy Nicholson 1, Max Vigeant 1, Trevor Allen 1.