OPENING SPRINT: A run of three straight contests at Schaal Aquatics Center closes out the home portion of the schedule for the No. 13-ranked UC Davis men's water polo team beginning this weekend as the Aggies welcome Western Water Polo Association rivals Fresno Pacific and Concordia to Northern California. Friday's match against the Sunbirds is scheduled for 2 p.m., with Sunday's clash against the Eagles scheduled for Noon.

THIS WEEK…
WHO: Fresno Pacific (5-14, 0-3 WWPA) at No. 13 UC Davis (8-7, 2-0 WWPA)
WHEN: Oct. 18, 2019 at 2 p.m. PT
WHERE: Schaal Aquatics Center in Davis, Calif.
LIVE SCORING: https://www.thefosh.net/livestats.php?gameid=7416

WHO: Concordia (6-11, 1-1 WWPA) at No. 13 UC Davis (8-7, 2-0 WWPA)
WHEN: Oct. 20, 2019 at Noon PT
WHERE: Schaal Aquatics Center in Davis, Calif.
LIVE SCORING: https://www.thefosh.net/livestats.php?gameid=7417

IN THE RANKINGS: Despite winning its only match of the week, UC Davis fell one spot to No. 13 in the latest Collegiate Water Polo Association poll released on Wednesday morning… Neither Fresno Pacific, nor Concordia, are ranked this week.

SCOUTING THE SUNBIRDS: Fresno Pacific enters the week with a 5-14 overall record and an 0-3 mark in WWPA play, dropping league contests against UC San Diego, Loyola Marymount, and California Baptist, thus far… The Sunbirds took a pair from Ottawa University and Austin College at the Lancer Joust hosted by CBU in their last outing back on Oct. 12, and will host Concordia on Saturday (Oct. 19) after facing the Aggies… Junior driver Jacob Fairchild leads FPU with 41 goals on the year, which ranks fourth in the WWPA entering the week, while senior driver Nathan Olson's 35 assists also stand fourth in the league… Goalkeeper Josh Ramage is sixth in the league with 124 saves.

SCOUTING THE EAGLES: Concordia enters the week with a 6-11 overall record and a 1-1 mark in WWPA action following an 11-10 win over Santa Clara on Oct. 12 in the team's last outing… The Eagles have now won four of their last five heading into a Saturday contest with Fresno Pacific, before continuing north to take on UC Davis… Prior to the win over the Broncos, Concordia finished 3-1 at the Gary Troyer Tournament, posting high-scoring wins over McKendree (20-11), La Verne (22-15), and Occidental (19-8), before falling to Navy by only a pair (13-11)… Junior driver Marius Jakimcikas leads the nation with 71 goals and 87 points overall… Goalkeeper Cullen Mooers is fifth in the WWPA with 136 saves.

SERIES NOTES: UC Davis and Fresno Pacific have played at least once in every year dating back to the 2009 campaign, with the Aggies winning all 13 contests between the two in that span… UC Davis has won each of the last four meetings with Concordia dating back to a 14-12 defeat at the hands of the then-No. 16 ranked Eagles at the NorCal Invitational on Sept. 22, 2013.

LAST TIME OUT: Senior Yurii Hanley's second goal of the match with 34 seconds remaining in regulation broke a 9-9 tie and helped lift the Aggies to a, 10-9, WWPA win over host Air Force. The match was decided thanks to a flurry of four goals in the final 2:40, capped by Hanley's score off a feed from teammate Keenan Anderson. The Falcons had one more shot, but Henry Yavitt's attempt drew the post as time expired. Eric Martel and Jack Stafford each had two goals to join Hanley, while Keenan Anderson added a pair of assists.

LISTENING TO LEYSON…
"We got extremely lucky there a couple of years ago when there were almost 30 goals scored in the game, and this was a more normal game where there was a lot of up-and-back, offensive fouls called, and transition back-and-forth. So I credit our guys for being tough and handling the adverse conditions."

"It was really hard, and we were fortunate to get a win, but I wouldn't be surprised to see someone lose out there. They are a much improved team, their coach is doing a great job, and you cannot prepare to play there."

"I think the good that came out of it is that we were resilient in the face of everybody in the pool knowing that we weren't really playing at our best and that the circumstances were really difficult. That has kind of been the hallmark of our team this year, honestly, and just continuing to get after it even in the face of really adverse conditions. That's an awesome quality for a team to have."

"These are smart guys and they know that we still have to clean some stuff up. We need to become a more disciplined team and I know that we can do it and we have time to work on it now."

"We're just continuing to march forward and every game gives us a chance to refocus. This game in particular (at Air Force) gives us a chance to really study the tape, talk about the things that we need to do, and be willing to open up and accept the areas that we need to improve in. We have two super important conference games coming up this weekend and no one is to be taken lightly."

"We need to continue to look inward, rather than outward, and really examine whether or not we are willing to make the changes that are required for us to play at the level to which we aspire."

"We have a young team full of a lot of players playing major minutes this year who were not playing major minutes last year. So, we still have the potential to keep growing as the season goes on and I'm hopeful."

AGGIE SKIP SHOTS…
• Child and Meisel Families Director of Men's Water Polo Dan Leyson is a combined 36-3 in WWPA since taking over as head coach in 2013
• The 10-9 decision at Air Force was the lowest-scoring meeting between the two programs since a 10-7 win on Sept. 20, 2015, and tied for the lowest this season with UC Davis' 13-6 win over California Baptist earlier this year on Sept. 20
• The Aggies have made the adjustment after the break, scoring 110 of their 194 goals in the third and fourth quarters combined — including 52 of those in the fourth alone
• Senior Yurii Hanley enters the week tied for eighth in the nation with his 32 assists
• Hanley's assist total this season is just nine short of the program's top five and just 12 off of Grant Muenter's 2008 single-season mark of 44
• Hanley's 118 career assists entering this week's contests rank second on the school's all-time list, trailing only record-holder Ido Goldschmidt, who amassed 153 from 2015-18
• Hanley's goal that beat Air Force marked his second game-winning goal of the season, joining his winner in the first meeting with Loyola Marymount back on Sept. 8
• Junior Jack Stafford also has a pair of game-winning goals (Chapman and California Baptist), while George Kuesis (California), Seif Elmankabadi (Ottawa University), Max Somple (Air Force on Sept. 28), and Nir Gross (Loyola Marymount on Sept. 28), have one apiece
• Goalkeeper Jonah Addington and his 27 steals rank tied for 10th in the nation entering the week, while his 145 saves are tied for fifth
• Keenan Anderson has scored at least one goal in each of his last four games and ranks tied for second on the team with 18 overall alongside teammate Eric Martel
• Sophomore Nir Gross, who leads the team with 35 goals, was held out of the scoring column for the first time since Sept. 21 against then-No. 1 Stanford and for only the third time overall in 15 matches this season
• Keenan Anderson, George Kuesis, Eric Martel, and Nir Gross, have all finished with at least one shot attempt in every match this season
 

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