Sept. 21, 2014 STOCKTON, Calif. - Junior Sean Grab and senior Chris Richardson totaled five goals each as UC Davis split its Day 2 contests to finish 10th at the Kap7 NorCal Classic men's water polo tournament, hosted by the University of the Pacific. The 11th-ranked and 10th-seeded Aggies edged No. 19 Air Force, 11-10, in the consolation semifinal; then fell to No. 10 UC Irvine by a 19-8 final in Sunday's ninth-place game. Both games took place at June Fergusson Pool on the campus of San Joaquin Delta College.
UC Davis moves to 3-7 for the year.
Senior Teddy Nicholson completed a hat trick in Sunday's finale with the Anteaters, while Grab and freshman Shawn Welch each hit two goals. The Aggies surrendered nine 6-on-5 goals and allowed UC Irvine to pull away from an 8-4 edge with a 5-1 run in the third quarter and a 5-0 start to the fourth. Sophomore Jacob Ley's goal in the final seconds of the third period prevented what would otherwise have been a nearly 12-minute scoreless drought.
In Sunday's earlier action, Richardson scored three goals in the third quarter to quell an Air Force comeback, then hit the game-winner on his fifth goal with 2:44 remaining in the fourth, leading UC Davis to an 11-10 victory.
Grab added three goals, Nicholson hit another two, and sophomore Max Vigeant netted one. All four Aggies scored one natural goal apiece to lift UC Davis to a 4-2 lead through the first quarter. Grab converted a 6-on-5 chance to open the second quarter to extend the lead to three before Jantz Johnson completed a 3-0 run to even the score at 5-5. Nicholson and Jantz traded goals to set the board at 6-6 going into halftime.
Johnson scored his fifth of six total goals early in the third to provide the Falcons with their first lead, then Dominic Vicino made it 8-6 with his goal at the 4:19 mark. However, Richardson responded with three straight goals -- at 3:29, 2:47 and 1:07 -- to restore UC Davis' lead to 8-9. On the next possession, Ben Rogers evened the contest with another goal.
Grab and Johnson exchanged scores midway through the fourth for the game's six tie at 10-10. Then Richardson put home the go-ahead just 18 seconds later. Neither team managed to break the plane of the cage for the remainder.
UC Davis returns home to host the 10-team, 20-game Aggie Shootout tournament at Schaal Aquatics Center from Friday through Sunday, Sept. 26-28. The Aggies take on Cal Lutheran and Navy in Saturday's session, then Chapman and Whittier on Sunday.
2014 KAP7 NORCAL CLASSIC, DAY 2
Hosted by the University of the Pacific • UC Davis games only.
| No. 19 Air Force | 2 | 4 | 3 | 1 | - | 10 |
| No. 11 UC Davis | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | - | 11 |
GOALS - AFA: Jantz Johnson 6, Riley Quinlan 2, Ben Rogers 1, Dominic Vicino 1. UC Davis: Chris Richardson 5, Sean Grab 3, Teddy Nicholson 2, Max Vigeant 1.
GOALIE SAVES - AFA: Max Benson 11. UC Davis: Spencer Creed 4.
| No. 11 UC Davis | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | - | 8 |
| No. 10 UC Irvine | 4 | 4 | 5 | 6 | - | 19 |
GOALS - UC Davis: Teddy Nicholson 3, Sean Grab 2, Shawn Welch 2, Jacob Ley 1. UCI: Lovre Milos 4, Jacob Mourer 3, Matt Skinner 2, Ryan Warde 2, Pablo Carballo 2, Jared Osborn 2, Chris Swieca 1, Larson Pfeil 1, Alan Robertson 1, Brendan Duffy 1.
GOALIE SAVES - UC Davis: Spencer Creed 10. UCI: Byron Rivers 6.
