Nov. 7, 2015 LOS ANGELES - Junior Cory Laidig and freshman Ido Goldschmidt each scored three goals to lead No. 10 UC Davis to a 14-10 win over No. 14 Loyola Marymount in Western Water Polo Association men's action at Burns Aquatics Center Saturday afternoon.
The win improves the Aggies to 17-7 for the year and completes a sweep of the conference at 6-0, securing the top seed and first-round bye at the WWPA Championship in two weeks.
Besides the two hat tricks, UC Davis received two goals from senior utility Sean Grab and freshman utility Sasa Antunovic. Sophomore goalkeeper Spencer Creed tallied 11 saves. For LMU, center Dayne Jagga and attacker Emanuel di Stasio each posted four goals.
After spotting the Lions the initial goal, UC Davis stormed to a 4-1 lead after the first quarter. Goldschmidt finished a 6-on-5 chance to equalize at the 5:17 mark, then redshirt freshman Brock Gordon figured on back-to-back goals to give the Aggies the lead. He assisted Grab for the go-ahead then converted a second-chance goal with under a minute remaining in the frame. Laidig made it 4-1 with his goal at the buzzer.
Laidig finished his hat trick by the midway point in the second half, setting UC Davis to a 7-3 advantage. Goals by Anutnovic and senior defender Austin Beckwith extended the margin to 9-3. LMU managed a Vuk Cvetkovic goal to close the half, but UC Davis held a 9-4 edge at the break.
Goldschmidt and Antunovic scored goals in the third to extend the UC Davis lead to 11-4 heading to the fourth but it was the goalkeeper Creed who highlighted the third. He posted six saves to halt the Lions to 0-for-7 shooting.
Both teams exchanged a flurry of goals early in the fourth, with the Aggies coming out with a 13-6 edge. The Lions fought back to three unanswered, including power-play scores by di Stasio at the 4:59 and 3:28 points, to pull within a 13-9 deficit with two minutes remaining. However, UC Davis locked down in those final minutes, with Grab adding an insurance goal to finish.
This marks the second time in head coach Daniel Leyson's three-year tenure that the Aggies have gone undefeated in conference play, following a 5-0 mark in 2013. The U.S. Air Force Academy hosts the WWPA Championship from November 20-22. The champion will earn a berth in a play-in game to the NCAA Championship.
| No. 10 UC Davis (17-7, 6-0) | 4 | 5 | 2 | 3 | - | 14 |
| No. 14 LMU (11-11, 4-2) | 1 | 3 | 0 | 6 | - | 10 |
GOALS - UC Davis: Cory Laidig 3, Ido Goldschmidt 3, Sean Grab 2, Sasa Antunovic 2, Wes Lincoln 1, Lyle Kipp 1, Austin Beckwith 1, Brock Gordon 1. LMU: Dayne Jagga 4, Emanuel di Stasio 4, Vuk Cvetkovic 1, Milutin Mitrovic 1.
GOALIE SAVES - UC Davis: Spencer Creed 11 (32:00). LMU: Kirk Wilenius 4 (16:00), Dominick Beaudine 3 (16:00).
