DAVIS, Calif. — A diverse offense saw 14 different Aggie players find the back of the cage on Sunday afternoon, as the No. 7-ranked UC Davis men's water polo split its final two games at the 2019 Aggie Roundup, falling in a rematch with No. 8 California, 14-10, before swamping Ottawa University, 16-4, at Schaal Aquatic Center.
The split left the Aggies at 2-2 for the week and 5-4 overall on the year heading into next week's MPSF Invitational in Southern California.
Freshman
Levi Murtaugh finished with a team-high four goals between the two games, including a hat trick in the nightcap against the Spirit, while sophomore
Nir Gross and junior
Jack Stafford added three more scores apiece.
Meeting for the second time in the span of just over a week, the Golden Bears got their revenge against the Aggies after UC Davis upset then-No. 5 ranked California in overtime in Berkeley.
Stafford put the Aggies on the board first after winning the opening sprint, putting his team up 1-0 just 34 seconds into the contest. The Golden Bears then answered in a big way with three straight goals — two coming on the power play and another on a 5-meter penalty — before Murtaugh found the back of the net to stop the bleeding.
Jasmin Kolasinac and
Max Somple then traded goals in the final 32 seconds to leave California ahead, 4-3, after one.
The two teams duplicated the scoreline in the second quarter, but the Aggies were able to fight back to tie the match at 5-all thanks to goals by
Eric Martell and Gross, and it was 6-6 just two minutes later when
Spencer Towill answered a score by California's Jordan Hoover midway through the period.
That would be as close as UC Davis would come, however, as the Golden Bears railed off the next four consecutive goals — including a pair by Safak Simsek and three points from Jack Deely — between the end of the second and beginning of the third periods to build a 10-6 advantage and they never looked back.
The Aggies would be able to claw back to within a pair at 10-8 following goals by
Yurii Hanley and
George Kuesis, and again at 11-9 on
Keenan Anderson's score with 5:59 remaining in the contest, but three more goals by California put the game on ice.
In the nightcap, UC Davis scored the first three goals of the match and opened the floodgates with a 10-goal second half against first-year Ottawa University en route to the 16-4 victory.
Eleven different Aggie players scored goals against the Spirit, as Murtaugh,
Patrick Burke,
Seif Elmankabadi, and
Logan Anderson, all tallied their first scores of the year. Along with Murtaugh's hat trick, Kuesis (goal and two assists), Gross (two goals and an assist), and Stafford (two goals and an assist), added three points in the match as UC Davis led 4-1 after one period and 6-2 at the break en route to the win.
ABOUT UC DAVIS
Providing a small-town community feel while providing a world-class academic experience, UC Davis is home to more than 37,000 students and centrally located between San Francisco, Lake Tahoe, and the Napa Valley. The No. 5-ranked public university in the nation according to the Wall Street Journal and Times Higher Education, and among the top 15 public universities nationwide according to U.S. News and World Report, UC Davis offers nearly 100 graduate programs and more than 100 academic majors across four colleges and six professional schools, ranking among the world and nation's best in numerous disciplines, including veterinary science, agriculture, and plant and animal programs.
AGGIE EVO
Launched in 2017-18, the Aggie EVO System is UC Davis Athletics' investment in the primary mission of preparing student-athletes for a successful "launch" after graduation. Thanks to a collaboration of alumni, university resources, corporate partners, coaches and Student-Athlete Outcomes staff, all Aggies are guided over four years to acquire the skills, knowledge, opportunities and tools to better know and navigate the "World of Work" after graduating from UC Davis. Follow the Aggie EVO system on Twitter and Instagram at @AggieEVO.
MARYA WELCH INITIATIVE
Named after the former physical education instructor, coach and Dean of Women who founded women's sports on the campus 25 years before the passage of Title IX, the Marya Welch Initiative for Women's Athletics provides comprehensive support for UC Davis' 16 women's athletics programs. Through the support of the Marya Welch Initiative and its group members, student-athletes are provided the best possible opportunity to succeed inside the classroom, and in competition, through special project gifts and by increasing visibility and participation at women's events throughout the year. All gifts to the Marya Welch Initiative are matched 1:1, doubling the impact on our women's programs. Visit https://give.ucdavis.edu/ATHG/324041 for more information.
