Carlos Reyes (@CarlosReyesSJ) – Spear Reporter
San Jose State men’s water polo (1-2, 0-0 GCC) was handed a devastating loss by UCLA (7-0, 0-0 MPSF) in its first game at the Aggie Roundup tournament in Davis, CA on Friday, September 16. SJSU fought for a win on neutral ground after suffering a loss to UCSB on September 10.
The match started off pretty one-sided in favor of the Bruins. UCLA’s attack took advantage of the sleeping SJSU defense and rifled two goals past sophomore goalkeeper, Jamie Steingraf.
UCLA’s sophomore attacker Chase Dodd dominated in the opening three minutes of gameplay with two goals, a takeaway, and forced an exclusion on a break-way towards goal.
Utility sophomore Laszlo Szeiben and center graduate student Niels Hofmeijer combined for two goals in order to even up the score for the Spartans towards the end of the first period.
Momentum seemed to be swinging in favor of SJSU, but UCLA quickly fired back with goals from Andy Rodgers and Hayden Nightingale to erase any possibility of the Spartans taking the lead before the end of the first quarter.
At its heart, the first half of the match showed a lot of back and forth between both teams. However, senior goalkeeper Bernardo Maurizi’s defensive prowess and Dodd’s lethal attack were too much for the Spartans to handle as they trailed 6-4 at the end of the half.
SJSU continued to struggle in the third quarter as they gave up two goals within the first 20 seconds of the period. Freshman attacker Javi Ibanez consistently tried to provide the Spartans with scoring opportunities but failed to get past Maurizi on multiple shot attempts.
As the quarter winded down, Ibanez heaved a shot from beyond half court that miraculously found the back of the net. The goal marked the end of the quarter and left the score 11-7 in favor of UCLA.
The final quarter of the game went eventless for the Spartans, as the team’s attack failed to develop any scoring opportunities and ended up conceding two goals as the clock winded down.
Towards the end of regulation, Jamie Steingraf provided a couple of heroic saves that prevented the Spartans from suffering an even worse outcome.
Despite some last-second efforts, UCLA would leave the waters with a 13-7 win over SJSU.
San Jose State men’s water polo team seeks to improve in their next matchup against California Baptist University on Saturday, September 17 at Davis, CA.