Score (Game 1): UC Davis 10, UCLA 14
Score (Game 2): UC Davis 16, Cuesta College 8
Location: Davis, Calif. (Schaal Aquatics Center)
Records: UC Davis 4-2, UCLA 5-0, Cuesta College 0-1
DAVIS, Calif. — UC Davis men's water polo went toe-to-toe against the defending national champions No. 1 UCLA in the first half during their opening game of the Aggie Roundup on Saturday, Sept. 5. The Aggies finished the day with a 16-8 victory over Cuesta College.
HOW IT HAPPENED (GAME 1)
- Thirty seconds into the game, Lucas Wulfhorst continued his fantastic freshman campaign with his first goal at home.
- Mateo Ruano responded to a score from Olympian Ryder Dodd by finding the back of the net for his first.
- The Bruins responded back quickly, but scores by Oleg Shatskikh and Andonis Petroutsas gave the home team a 4-2 lead after one.
- Opening quarter two, Wulfhorst continued to attack with his second goal of the day.
- Three straight goals from UCLA tied things at five apiece before Ruano cashed in his second for a 6-5 Aggie lead.
- Another Bruin goal squeaked past the keeper as the teams entered halftime knotted at six.
- UCLA began to pull away with five goals in the third quarter, broken up by a score by Thomas Marr, giving them an 11-7 advantage heading into the final period.
- UC Davis tied the road team with three goals in the fourth, getting scores from Thomas Kiesling, Max Prokhin, and Wulfhorst.
- But the third quarter deficit proved to be the difference, giving UCLA a 14-10 victory.
HOW IT HAPPENED (GAME 2)
- Game two opened up with back-to-back-to-back goals in the first two minutes by Wulfhorst, Colton Fine, and Marr.
- The Cougars struck back a few minutes later, but scores by Kiesling and Oriol Viñas put the Aggies up 5-1 after one.
- Quarter number two was scoreless through the first five minutes before Austin Quick broke the tie with his first of the day.
- Freshmen Oliver Wilmink and Jacob Carrera followed him up, with Carrera's goal being the first of his career.
- Cuesta's Janson Cunningham tacked on his team's second goal, with the score reading 8-2 in favor of Davis at halftime.
- Thor Samuel for the Cougars would get two to begin the second half, with Lucas Ruano and Cassius Wolf responding to each by finding the back of the net.
- Former Aggie JT Doughty would cash in before Cameron Heller would also find his first collegiate goal to keep his team ahead 11-5.
- Two goals by Cuesta was met with two more from Wulfhorst for his second hat trick of the day, ending the period with a 13-7 advantage.
- The fourth quarter was met with a flurry of scores by the Ags, with Viñas, Ruano, and Wilmink each tacking on their second on the game.
- Cuesta would put one on the board following a penalty by their opponent, but that would be the last score from either team, giving Davis a 16-8 victory.
UP NEXT: Davis finishes up the Aggie Roundup with a trio of games on Sunday, Sept. 6. Action begins at 9:30 am PT against No. 18 Harvard. All Aggie games will be available to stream on ESPN+ and live stats can be found on The Fosh.
ABOUT UC DAVIS ATHLETICS:
UC Davis, the No. 2 ranked public university by the Wall Street Journal, is home to 40,000 undergraduate students and 12,000 employees. Ranked #1 in Agriculture and Forestry as well as #1 in Veterinary Medicine, UC Davis is located in a true California college town nestled between world-class destinations such as the San Francisco Bay Area, Napa Valley and Lake Tahoe. Over 650 Aggie student-athletes compete in 25 Division I varsity sports, with 16 sports transitioning to the Mountain West Conference beginning in 2026–27.
For more information, visit
https://ucdavisaggies.com/.
