STOCKTON, Calif. — UC Davis sophomore Nir Gross finished with a team-high three goals and helped the Aggies out to an early lead, but a big second quarter from host Pacific gave the No. 3-ranked Tigers the lead for good en route to a, 12-9, victory over the No. 10 Aggies on Friday night at the Chris Kjeldsen Poll in Stockton, Calif.

The defeat evened UC Davis' record at 7-7 overall on the season heading into its Sunday home non-conference finale against San Jose State at the Schaal Aquatic Center. The opening sprint is scheduled for 1 p.m.

Pacific, which received four goals and four assists from Luke Pavillard and a hat trick from Matthew Hosmer, improved to 10-1 overall on the season.

For Gross, it was his sixth hat trick of the year and his fourth straight after scoring five goals against Air Force, six more against Loyola Marymount, and three more against UC San Diego, last weekend at the MPSF Invitational. The sophomore now has 35 goals on the season, matching his scoring output from his freshman season with seven regular season matches remaining.

Keenan Anderson, George Kuesis, Kyle Reilly, Spencer Towill, Yurii Hanley, and Levi Murtaugh, also found the back of the cage for the Aggies, who jumped out to an early 3-2 advantage after the first quarter as Towill and Gross answered Pacific scores before Hanley's goal gave UC Davis the lead with 2:14 remaining in the period.

The Tigers then opened the second with the tying goal on a 5-meter score off the hands of Hosmer, then took the lead for good on Pavillard's first goal of the night. Pavillard followed with another for a two-goal advantage before Murtaugh netted the Aggies' lone goal of the period to cut the deficit back to one.

Pacific's Djordje Stanic made it 6-4 in the closing seconds of the first half and Pavillard opened the second with his third of the night for the Tigers' largest lead of the game. The two teams then traded goals, with Reilly's score bringing UC Davis to within 8-6, as goalkeeper Jonah Addington stopped a pair of shots and survived a missed 5-meter from Jeremie Cote.

The Aggies' offense then tried to turn the tide inside, feeding Gross for a pair of shots on the powerplay that were denied by the woodwork, and Hanley had another turned away by Barry, to keep it a two-goal contest before Hosmer found the back of the cage with three seconds remaining in the quarter for a 9-6 lead.

UC Davis and Pacific then played one another even in the fourth, with the Aggies reeling the Tigers back in after they had built a five-goal advantage with just under three minutes to play. Keenan Anderson scored on the powerplay and Gross buried a 5-meter to cap the scoring as UC Davis could come no closer.

Addington finished with nine saves through the better part of three quarters before freshman Duncan Creed entered and added a pair of saves in the final 90 seconds.

The Aggies finished with 33 shots to 36 for the Tigers, who were 6-of-12 on the powerplay compared to just 2-for-8 for UC Davis.

#3 PACIFIC 12, #10 UC DAVIS 9
UCD — 3-1-2-3 — 9
PAC — 2-4-3-3 – 12

UC DAVIS GOALS: Nir Gross 3, Keenan Anderson 1, George Kuesis 1, Kyle Reilly 1, Spencer Towill 1, Yurii Hanley 1, Levi Murtaugh 1
PACIFIC GOALS: Luke Pavillard 4, Matthew Hosmer 3, Jeremie Cote 2, Djordje Stanic 2, Andrea De Nardi 1
SAVES: Jonah Addington (UCD) - 9, Duncan Creed (UCD) 2; Jon Barry (PAC) - 10
 

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