By Anthony Lucido — Reporter
San Jose State men’s water polo (15-13, 1-2 GCC) lost 13-4 in its second to last game of the season against UC Santa Barbara (20-8, 2-2 MPSFC).
The first period began with Spartan freshman utility player Laszlo Szieben beating Gaucho junior attacker Tommy Hawkins in the sprint and grabbing first possession of the ball.
Within the first minute, the Spartans began their powerplay passing the ball to SJSU’s sophomore utility Connor MacMillian who heaved it towards the net but misses the cage. A familiar sight for the Spartans for the rest of the game.
UCSB quickly turned the game in its favor with junior attacker Sam Nangle depositing the ball with ease, scoring the first point of the game for the Gauchos in the second minute.
SJSU tried to make its return with freshman utility player Bende Pardi slinging the ball at the net only to be deflected by UCSB’s senior attacker Leo Yuno.
In the third minute of the first period, Nangle made a back-to-back shots for the Gauchos 2-0 with assistance from senior driver Nathan Puentes.
The first period ended with UCSB leading the Spartans with a hefty four-to-nothing lead, setting the tone for the rest of the game.
SJSU scraped by a few points in the second and fourth periods but could not compete with the Gauchos’ offense and defense.
UCSB had several hard hitters, with Nangle, Puentes and senior attacker Cole Brosnan scoring three points each.
Gaucho junior goalkeeper Danny Roland and senior goalkeeper Connor MacDonald also proved big trouble for the Spartans with Roland making 77% of his saves and MacDonald making 60% of his.
The game ended with SJSU having its three-game win streak ended and trailing behind UCSB 13-4.
The Spartans return home to face off in their final game of the season against Stanford on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. in the Spartan Recreation and Aquatic Center.
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