UC Santa Barbara Men’s Water Polo kicked off the Norcal Tournament with a victory over Air Force and a loss to Cal on Day One.
Junior attacker Shane Hauschild tallied five goals, four of which were in the match against Air Force. Chris Whitelegge recorded 20 saves for the day.
AIR FORCE
Hauschild began the Gaucho domination over Air Force with a goal in the first possession of the game. Mitch Hamilton followed suit a few minutes later with another goal, followed by a goal from Anthony Buljan to bring the score to 3-0. Air Force scored two late goals in the first quarter to bring the score to 3-2 going in to the second.
A Gaucho ejection early in the second quarter prompted a Falcons goal to tie the score 3-3. They scored again off a power play to take the lead for the last time. UCSB returned with goals from Hauschild (2), Derek Shoemaker, Samer Alkateb, and Mitch Hamilton, to take the lead at the half, 8-4.
A quiet third quarter brought the score to 9-5, after a Falcon goal and Gaucho goal from Reed Cotterill.
A goal from Shane Hauschild in the fourth quarter would bring the Gauchos’ goals to 10. Air Force would go on to score twice more in the fourth quarter, but it wouldn’t be enough to hold off UCSB. The Gauchos won 10-7.
CAL
A quick initial goal from Berkeley began the night game against UCSB to round out Day One of the NorCal Tournament. The Gauchos responded quickly with a power play on a Cal exclusion, resulting in a goal from Derek Shoemaker to tie the score up. Cal would power through the remainder of the first quarter, tallying three more goals to bring the score to 1-4 at the start of the second.
The second quarter allowed the Bears to climb to a six-point lead. Shoemaker scored in the final possession of the first half to bring the score to 8-2.
The Gauchos would keep the Bears at bay in the third quarter, only allowing them to score two goals. Reed Cotterill capitalized on a Cal ejection to bring the Gauchos’ goals to three.
Santa Barbara rallied in the fourth quarter, tying Berkeley 2-2 in the quarter. Mitch Hamilton and Nick Wiley recorded the two goals for the Gauchos, bringing the final game score to 12-5. Whitelegge tallied nine saves for the game.
