STANFORD – The sixth-ranked UCSB men’s water polo team (4-2) split a pair of games on the opening day of the Northern California Invitational being hosted by Stanford. After defeating No. 14 Air Force (4-6), 15-5, the Gauchos fell to No. 3 Cal (7-0) in the tournament’s second round by way of a 12-8 score.
In the first game of the day, the Gauchos jumped out to a 4-2 lead in the first quarter and never looked back. UCSB posted a game-high five goals in the second quarter and then held the Falcons scoreless in the fourth.
Junior Milos Golic led the team with four goals and, in his first game back after a medical redshirt year, junior Zsombor Vincze tallied a hat trick. In goal, junior Fraser Bunn posted five saves in the first half and freshman Myles Christian had three in the second half.
The second game of the day paired UCSB against No. 3 Cal. The Bears were the one’s to take the initial lead, outscoring the Gauchos 4-2 in the first quarter. UCSB was never able to make up the deficit, falling 12-8.
Golic once again led UCSB, tallying a trio of goals in the loss and sophomore Noah Smith had two goals. Bunn posted seven saves for the Gauchos.
To the Gauchos’ credit, the Bears’ margin of victory (four goals) was their smallest this season.
UCSB will continue action at the Northern California Tournament on Sunday when they face No. 7 Pepperdine at 9:20 am at Stanford. The match-up will be the second of the early season between the Waves and Gauchos; UCSB defeated Pepperdine, 8-7, at the UC San Diego Triton Invitational earlier this month.
Water polo fans, new this year, donations to The Gaucho Fund – regardless of the sport it supports – will be part of the “One Donation is Gold” system. This allows donors to purchase priority/premium seating and parking at UCSB games across several sports in addition to other benefits.
If you donate to water polo you will have the opportunity to purchase tickets in the Gold Zone (priority/premium seats) at Harder Stadium for men’s soccer, which includes complimentary priority parking and cushioned chair-backed seating. No longer will separate donations need to be made to secure priority seating to different UCSB sports. One donation, one fund: The Gaucho Fund.
#6 UCSB 15, #14 Pepperdine 5
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |||||||||||
| #14 Air Force | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | ||||||||||
| #6 UCSB | 4 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 15 |
Air Force Goals: Geiger, Hines, Lemmen, Shields, Wallin
Air Force Saves: Ostrom 6, Harold 3
UCSB Goals: Milos Golic 4, Zsombor Vincze 3, Brian Bishop 2, Stefan Partelow 2, Evan Dellinger, Sam Evans, Joe Plume, Teddy Zhang
UCSB Saves: Fraser Bunn 5, Myles Christian 3
#3 Cal 12, #6 UCSB 8
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |||||||||||
| #6 UCSB | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 8 | ||||||||||
| #3 Cal | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 12 |
UCSB Goals: Milos Golic 3, Noah Smith 2, Stefan Partelow, Brian Shoemaker, Zsombor Vincze
UCSB Saves: Fraser Bunn 7
Cal Goals: Dudley 3, Rackov 3, Warden 2, Z. White 2, Nasoff, Steffens
Cal Saves: McIntosh 15
