DAVIS, Calif. — The Aggie offense was on full display Saturday as the No. 7 UC Davis men's water polo team took down Concordia and Fresno Pacific by the same score, 19-5, at the Schaal Aquatic Center on the campus of UC Davis.
 
"I'm happy overall with the team's performances," head coach Daniel Leyson said. "Our season is coming to an apex coming up, so we're building toward that point. We're excited about the games to come, but we're pleased with our performances today."
 
With their pair of home conference victories, UC Davis improves to a perfect 4-0 in WWPA play and 11-6 overall on the year. Concordia drops to 3-18 and Fresno Pacific falls to 2-16.
 
Redshirt sophomore utility Tyler Mrkaich had himself a great day, notching seven goals, including a pair of hat tricks.
 
"We've known for a long time that Tyler is an extremely gifted player," Leyson said. "He's really worked on his game and working hard. He's enjoying the fruits of his labor and he has limitless potential."
 
Freshman utility Leo Giessmann collected five goals between both matches, securing a hat trick against the Golden Eagles.
 
In the morning opener, the Aggies jumped out to an early 3-2 lead before exploding for a single period-high eight goals in the second quarter to hold a 11-4 edge at halftime. Mrkaich completed his hat trick and scored all four of his goals in the first half.
 
Redshirt junior goalkeeper Aaron Wilson, who started both contests today, stopped five shots in the third period while the Aggie offense tacked on four more goals in the same frame. UC Davis would not slow down as the home team reached its season-high for the year with four more goals in the fourth quarter. 11 different Aggies found the back of the net in the first win of the day, including a pair from junior utility Aleix Aznar Beltran, freshman center Brody Crouch, and sophomore attacker Johnny Kujawa.
 
The afternoon match saw most of the reverses see action in the 19-5 victory over the Sunbirds. Freshman goalkeeper Sam Monette swapped in for Wilson at halftime, making three saves across two periods.
 
Offensively, the Aggies tallied five players (Levi Murtaugh, Crouch, Giessmann, Connor Norton and Mrkaich) with two or more goals , including another hat trick on the day by Mrkaich. Redshirt junior attacker Max Stryker contributed effectively as well, netting his first goal of the season while dishing out three assists.
 
While scoring five of their 19 goals on the power play, the UC Davis defense did their job allowing no goals when Fresno Pacific was up a man.
 
The Aggies continue WWPA play, going on the road next week to face Biola on Friday.