Oct. 12, 2014 LOS ANGELES - No. 11 UC Davis dropped a pair of one-goal games on Sunday to place 12th in the prestigious SoCal men's collegiate water polo tournament at UCLA's Sunset Canyon Pool. The Aggies lost to 10th-ranked Princeton, 9-8, in their early matchup; then were edged by 12th-ranked Pepperdine in the final seconds of a 10-9 thriller in Sunday's nightcap.
UC Davis slips to 8-12 for the season.
Seniors Teddy Nicholson and Michael Wright, and junior Sean Grab each had two-goal games during Day 2 action. Grab and Nicholson hit that total in the early loss to the Tigers, then Wright led UC Davis with his two scores against the Waves later in the afternoon. Freshman goalkeeper Spencer Creed totaled 17 saves for the day.
The Aggies made valiant comebacks to equalize in each contest. Against Princeton, UC Davis trailed 2-0 within the first four minutes, 5-3 at halftime, and as much as 6-3 after the opening possession of the third quarter. Senior utility Chris Richardson then converted a 6-on-5 chance to kick off a 3-0 run. Freshman Cory Laidig and Nicholson netted goals within a 50-second span to equalize at 6-6.
However, Princeton later responded with three unanswered to reclaim the lead. Sophomore Lyle Kipp and junior Austin Beckwith added goals in the last two minutes, but the Aggies could not force extra frames.
In the loss to Pepperdine, UC Davis drew first blood on a Wright goal with 3:04 left in the first, and held a 2-1 edge through the opening quarter after Nicholson delivered with a minute to go. Pepperdine responded with three straight goals midway through the second to claim a 4-2 lead. Aggie sophomore Max Vigeant and Wave senior Jake Schrimpf traded goals set the board at 5-3 with two minutes to go in the first half. Then Richardson converted a five-meter penalty and junior Wes Lincoln completed a power play to allow UC Davis to tie the game at 5-5 at halftime.
The Waves scored four goals in the third to take a 9-7 lead heading into the finale. That two-goal margin held for more than five minutes of play in the fourth before Grab and sophomore Jacob Ley each put up tallies, evening the score at 9-9. But with just nine seconds left in regulation, sophomore defender connected on his only goal of the day to lift Pepperdine to the mild upset.
The SoCal Tournament, sometimes billed as the SoCal Invitational, annually features one of the toughest fields of any collegiate tournament. This year's event had all nationally ranked teams, including each of the top 12 from Wednesday's poll.
UC Davis returns to action for two home contests: a non-conference matchup against Concordia of Irvine on October 23, followed by a Western Water Polo Association showdown against Air Force the subsequent Thursday.
2014 SOCAL MEN'S WATER POLO TOURNAMENT, DAY 2
UCLA Sunset Canyon Pool/Spieker Aquatics Center • UC Davis games only.
| No. 11 UC Davis | 3 | 0 | 3 | 2 | - | 8 |
| No. 10 Princeton | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | - | 9 |
GOALS - UC Davis: Sean Grab 2, Teddy Nicholson 2, Chris Richardson 1, Cory Laidig 1, Lyle Kipp 1, Austin Beckwith 1. Princeton: Thomas Nelson 3, Jordan Colina 1, Sean Butler 1, Jovan Jeremic 1, Connor McGoldrick 1, Sam Butler 1, Curtis Fink 1.
GOALIE SAVES - UC Davis: Spencer Creed 12 (32:00). Princeton: Vojislav Mitrovic 8 (16:00), Alex Gow 2 (16:00).
| No. 12 Pepperdine | 1 | 4 | 4 | 1 | - | 10 |
| No. 11 UC Davis | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | - | 9 |
GOALS - Pepperdine: Wesley Sherburne 3, Brock Liebhardt 2, Charles Olsen 1, Jake Schrimpf 1, Kenneth Keller 1, Luke Hewko 1, Justin Cowan 1. UC Davis: Michael Wright 2, Teddy Nicholson 1, Max Vigeant 1, Chris Richardson 1, Wes Lincoln 1, Cory Laidig 1, Sean Grab 1, Jacob Ley 1.
GOALIE SAVES - Pepperdine: Zach Rhodes 10 (32:00). UC Davis: Spencer Creed 5 (32:00).
