Dec. 1, 2016

BERKELEY, Calif. - Junior Cory Laidig, sophomore Ido Goldschmidt and freshman Eric Martel each scored hat tricks, but UC Davis men's water polo's historic season ultimately ended in the same fashion it began: with a one-goal loss to Harvard. In a game featuring six ties and three lead changes, the Crimson edged the Aggies in a 16-15 overtime thriller in the NCAA Championship play-in round at Spieker Aquatic Complex Thursday evening.

UC Davis, tied for ninth in Wednesday's national poll, ends its season with a 23-6 record. Harvard, also tied for ninth nationally, improves to 27-6 for the year. This was the fourth straight meeting between the two teams settled by a single goal, and the second during that span decided in overtime. Sophomore Riley Venne and freshman Yurii Hanley chipped in two more goals apiece for the Aggies, while junior Morgan Olson-Fabbro and sophomore Marcus Anderson each added one. For Harvard, four players had three goals each: freshman Charlie Owens, senior Joey Colton, senior Noah Harrison and junior Colin Chiapello. Freshman Austin Sechrest added another two, including his team's 16th goal with a minute left in the overtime period. After Goldschmidt got the Aggies started with his five-meter penalty goal in the opening minutes, UC Davis fell into an early 4-1 hole as of the 3:04 mark in the first quarter. Venne converted a power play and Martel scored from set to cut the deficit to 4-3, only to have Harrison boost the Crimson lead back to two at the end of the opening frame. Harvard stayed in front of the Aggies for most of a high-scoring second quarter, pulling to as much as a 7-4 lead on another Harrison tally. Nick Coufal's steal at one end of the pool set up a Venne counterattack goal at the quarter's midpoint. Then another transition goal, this time from Goldschmidt to Martel, brought the margin to just 7-6. Chiapello netted his first goal of the game to pad the Crimson lead back to two, only to have Laidig equalize from two meters on the next possession, making it 8-7. Martel later won a battle at set to tie the game for the first time. The two teams went to the break in an 8-8 deadlock. Harvard regained the lead in the third quarter, making it 10-8 just two minutes after the intermission. Coufal assisted on another goal, this time to Olson-Fabbro with 4:35 left, then Laidig scored on a rebound and putback to tie the contest at 10-10 just after the three-minute mark. The two teams again traded goals to match up at 11-all before Goldschmidt's successful 6-on-5 chance finally gave UC Davis its first lead at 12-11 with 17 seconds left in the third. Anderson assisted on the go-ahead. Chiapello quickly tied the game yet again at 12-12 early in the fourth, then Harrison put Harvard back on top. Anderson assisted Hanley for a goal at 3:47, tying the game at 13-13, only to have Owens answer after the next restart. Still facing that one-goal deficit, redshirt freshman Holden Tamblyn found Anderson at the five position for yet another equalizer, this time at 14-14 with 1:44 left in regulation. UC Davis and Harvard each managed two shots in the final minutes but could not convert, sending the game to overtime. Harvard senior Viktor Wrobel planted a lob into the Aggie cage to propel his team to a 15-14 lead in the lone goal of the first overtime segment. UC Davis turned the ball over three times and was called for a ball-under in its first four possessions of extra time. Then in the second three minutes, a Harry Tafur-drawn exclusion gave way to a second Sechrest goal, boosting the margin to 16-14 with less than a minute left in overtime. The Aggies had to score twice in quick succession to have any chance of forcing a sudden-victory period. Goldschmidt performed the first task, firing in a free throw from beyond the five-meter line to cut the lead to 16-15 with 46 ticks remaining. Aggie goalie Spencer Creed picked up a steal on the other end to give UC Davis one more shot of tying. However, Harrison came up with a big steal at two meters to lock of the win in the final seconds. UC Davis' appearance in the NCAA postseason was its first since 1997, while the 23 wins represented anothe program record. The Aggies qualified for the tournament by virtue of the Western Water Polo Association title, won at Santa Clara back on November 20.

No. 9 Harvard (26-7)	5	3	3	3	2	-	16
No. 9 UC Davis (23-6)	3	5	4	2	1	-	15

GOALS - HARVARD: Charlie Owens 3, Noah Harrison 3, Joey Colton 3, Colin Chiapello 3, Austin Sechrest 2, Dan Stevens 1, Viktor Wrobel 1. UC DAVIS: Eric Martel 3, Cory Laidig 3, Ido Goldschmidt 3, Riley Venne 2, Yurii Hanley 2, Morgan Olson-Fabbro 1, Marcus Anderson 1.