DAVIS, Calif. — The No. 8 UC Davis men's water polo team swept its way to a pair of wild victories on day one of its own Aggie Roundup, posting an 11-6 upset of No. 7 Pacific to start the day before rallying to remain unbeaten with a thrilling 11-10 sudden victory decision over No. 11 San Jose State in the nightcap at the Schaal Aquatics Center on campus on Friday.
The two wins pushed UC Davis' record to 7-0 overall on the year — the most for the program since yearly game-by-game records are available beginning with the 2002 season. The seven straight wins are tied for the fifth-longest winning streak in that same span and the most consecutive victories since the Aggies won nine straight en route to a WWPA title and NCAA Tournament berth in 2019.
Meanwhile, the win over the Tigers in the opening match of the day was only the second for UC Davis in the last 14 meetings with Pacific, and the first since a 12-7 win at home back on Nov. 11, 2018
Just a week after sinking the Spartans in a hard-fought 10-7 victory in San Jose, the Aggies and San Jose State battled tooth and nail once again in UC Davis' home pool on Friday. Back-to-back goals by Gross and freshman
Hal Goulter staked the Aggies to the early lead, but four straight goals by four different players brought the Spartans back and staked them to a 4-2 lead after one.
Three straight scores — two by Gross to complete the hat trick and another by
Aleix Aznar Beltran on a five-meter attempt — regained the lead for UC Davis in the second quarter, but scores from Bende Pardi and Laszlo Szieben put SJSU back in front, 6-5, at the break, and the Spartans extended their lead on another goal by Szieben to start the third.
UC Davis responded again, with Goulter scoring from the center to start a 3-0 run by UC Davis to close out the third as
Aaron Voggenthaler and
Ben Fleming scored 48 seconds apart for an 8-7 lead after three, but San Jose State was undeterred, getting a pair of scores by Pardi for a 9-8 lead with 2:22 to play, setting up a wild finish.
Both teams had chances on their ensuing two possessions, coming up empty, but a miss by the Aggies gave the Spartans the ball with 27 seconds to play, giving San Jose State the chance to possibly run out the clock. The Aggies'
Logan Anderson, however, had other ideas as he coxed a steal from the SJSU goalkeeper, giving UC Davis another chance.
Two ensuing shots were stopped by Spartan keeper Yahav Fire, but the ball found its way into open water in front of the net after the second. That's when Gross made a charge into the middle and pushed the ball up and over the head of the San Jose State defense to tie the match at 9-9 with two seconds remaining.
Adam Bado's second goal of the match in the first overtime gave the Spartans the 10-9 lead, and UC Davis answered on a
Spencer Towill 6-on-5 score with 1:31 remaining in the second overtime to tie things up once again.
The Aggies had a golden chance at the end of overtime but Fire was there to smother attempts by both Aznar Beltran and
Levi Murtaugh, sending the contest to sudden victory. With the next goal winning the match, the Spartans turned the ball over on a shot clock violation that nearly resulted in a goal, but was waived off by the officials.
That gave UC Davis another opportunity and
Michael Plastino did not waste this one, firing one in from the top and beating Fire for the game-winner with 1:58 remaining.
In the opening clash against Pacific,
Logan Anderson finished with a five-point day, scoring a pair of goals to go with three assists, while
Nir Gross added a hat trick and
Ben Fleming chipped in four points as part of an 11-6 win over the Tigers.
The Tigers took the early lead with a pair of first quarter goals, but that was the last time they would see the lead as UC Davis answered by scoring seven of the next eight goals in the half to lead 7-3 at the break. Pacific eventually closed to gap to just two scores on goals by Eli Lule and Mihailo Vukacic midway through the third, but three straight scores by Murtaugh and Gross closed the door as the Aggie defense shutout the Tigers for the final 11:33 of the match.
UC Davis out-shot Pacific, 36-27, for the contest and held the Tigers to just 1-for-13 on the power play. Goalkeeper
Aaron Wilson finished with eight stops in net to earn the win.
Tournament play continues on Saturday morning (Sept. 18) at 8:30 a.m., with UC Davis kicking off the day's action against No. 4 California. The Aggies also take on No. 1 USC later in the day beginning at 4 p.m.
NCAA MEN'S WATER POLO
#8 UC DAVIS 11, #7 PACIFIC 6
Schaal Aquatics Center • Davis, Calif.
PAC – 2-1-3-0—6
UCD – 2-5-3-1—11
PAC GOALS: Bogdan Djerkovic 2, Mihailo Vukacic 2, Djordje Stanic 1, Eli Lule 1
UC DAVIS GOALS: Logan Anderson 2,
Ben Fleming 2,
Spencer Towill 1,
Aleix Aznar Beltran 1,
Aaron Voggenthaler 1,
Nir Gross 3,
Levi Murtaugh 1
UC DAVIS SAVES: Aaron Wilson 8
#8 UC DAVIS 11, #11 SAN JOSE STATE 10 (SV)
Schaal Aquatics Center • Davis, Calif.
SJSU – 4-2-1-2-1-0-0—10
UCD – 2-3-3-1-0-1-1—11
SJSU GOALS: Laszlo Szieben 3, Adam Bado 2, Tomasso Ramacciotti 1, Bende Pardi 4
UC DAVIS GOALS: Michael Plastino 1,
Ben Fleming 1,
Spencer Towill 1,
Aleix Aznar Beltran 1,
Aaron Voggenthaler 1,
Nir Gross 4,
Hal Goulter 2
UC DAVIS SAVES: Duncan Creed 5
DAY ONE AGGIE ROUNDUP SCORES
#8 UC Davis 11, #7 Pacific 6
#1 USC 12, #11 San Jose State 5
#4 California 16, #19 California Baptist 8
#8 UC Davis 11, #11 San Jose State 10 (SV)
ABOUT UC DAVIS
Centrally located between San Francisco and Lake Tahoe, over 700 student-athletes across 25 teams enjoy an unrivaled undergraduate experience at the fifth-ranked public school in the country.
Ranked annually in the nation's top 10 in diversity and students' social mobility, UC Davis and its innovative Aggie EVO System helps student-athletes develop passions, connect with a comprehensive network of alums and industry leaders, gain real-world experience and thrive as a young professional following a successful launch to full-time employment or graduate school.
