Senior Milos Golic set a new UCSB (9-4) men’s water polo career scoring record on Sunday as the fifth-ranked Gauchos posted a pair of wins over visiting No. 16 Concordia (6-8) and Harvard (6-11) in a non-conference doubleheader at Campus Pool.
Golic recorded a hat trick in the win over Concordia bringing is his career goals count to 246, which tops Larry Mouchawar’s previous school record of 244, which was set during the 1983 season. The native of Belgrade, Serbia and three-time All-American tied the record three minutes and 23 seconds into the second quarter against the Eagles. He then made the record his own just a minute and 33 seconds later with his 245th career goal.
Sophomore Brian Shoemaker scored the first goal of the day just 40 seconds into the contest with Concordia. The Eagles countered with a six-on-five goal from Milos Skalijac a minute and a half later. Noah Smith gave the Gauchos the lead again during the next possession, but with 1:11 to go in the first quarter, Duje Grubisic tied the game at two-all.
UCSB gained a two-goal lead early in the second behind goals from Brian Bishop and Golic. With 4:22 to go in the half, Concordia drew an ejection and called a timeout to set up a play. The power play was effective and Alex Donavan made it a one-goal game. Golic scored his record-setting goal to regain the cushion for the Gauchos, but Concordia continued to bite at their heels and Caleb Hamilton took advantage of another UCSB exclusion, cutting the Gaucho lead to 5-4. Smith tallied his second goal of the game during the next possession, to push the advantage back to two goals.
Each team exchanged a goal in the third to put the score at 7-5 heading into the final quarter. UCSB outscored the Eagles 3-1 in the fourth, converting three of its six man-up opportunities to finish the game with the 10-6 win.
Golic led the team with a hat trick while Bishop and Noah Smith each notched a pair of goals. In goal, Fraser Bunn recorded six blocks during the first half and Myles Christian had four in the second.
The Gauchos kept their momentum going in the second game of the day against Harvard. UCSB jumped out to 6-0 lead in the first quarter, scoring on all four of their six-on-five opportunities. UCSB stretched the lead to 8-0 in the second before Evan Zepfel provided the Crimson with their first goal during a power play with 2:14 to go in the first half. Kevin DiSilvestro followed with a goal 32 seconds later to bring Harvard back within six. The Gauchos had the final say in the half when Noah Smith hurled the ball from about 10 meters out for his third goal of the game.
UCSB outscored Harvard 2-1 in the third to carry an 11-3 lead into the final quarter. The Crimson matched the Gauchos’ three goals in the fourth to put the final tally at 15-6.
Noah Smith led the squad with four goals in the game, bringing his total for the day to a team-leading six. Meanwhile, Ryen Flint and Evan Dellinger each scored twice. Freshmen Cooper Smith and Tom Cole each scored their first career goals in the win. In the goal, Jay Lovero had 10 saves in the first half and Russell Russo LeVasseur had five in the second.
UCSB will be in action again next Sunday, Oct. 17 when its hosts No. 6 Stanford in the Gauchos’ Mountain Pacific Sports Federation opener at noon at Campus Pool. Admission, as always, is free to UCSB home men’s water polo contests.
UCSB 10, Concordia 6
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – Final
Concordia 2 2 1 1 – 6
UCSB 2 4 1 3 – 10
Concordia Goals: Caleb Hamilton 2, Duje Grubisic, Milos Skaljac, Jacob Pril, Alex Donovan
Concordia Saves: Martin Babovic 10
UCSB Goals: Milos Golic 3, Brian Bishop 2, Noah Smith 2, Zsombor Vincze, Dylan Baliani, Brian Shoemaker
UCSB Saves: Fraser Bunn 6, Myles Christian 4
UCSB 15, Harvard 6
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – Final
Harvard 0 – 2 – 1 – 3 – 6
UCSB 6 – 3 – 2 – 3 – 15
Harvard Goals: Kevin DiSilvestro 2, Evan Zepfel, Jeff Lee, Luka Babic, Bret Voith
Harvard Saves: Alexandre Popp 6, Ryan Freerks 6
UCSB Goals: Noah Smith 4, Ryen Flint 2, Evan Dellinger 2, Brian Shoemaker, Brian Bishop, Tom Cole, Matt Puig, Cooper Smith
UCSB Saves: Jay Lovero 10, Russell Russo LeVasseur 5
