By Nathan Canilao (@nathancanilao)- Spear Reporter
The SJSU men’s water polo (5-6, 0-0 GCC) team struggled this past weekend at the MPSF Invitational at Stanford University, going 1-3 with losses to Long Beach State, UC Irvine and UC San Diego.
Game 1 vs Long Beach State
SJSU faced conference rival Long Beach State (10-5, 1-0) for its first game on Friday, dropping the match by the score of 12-9.
The Spartans kept it close throughout the first half. Early offense kept them in the match, but their inability to get stops gave the Sharks the upper hand.
SJSU was trailing at the end of the half, 6-5.
While SJSU was able to bring the deficit down to one goal, Long Beach went on a 3-0 run to seal the deal.
Junior utility players Mark Kis and Gal Haimovich each scored two goals for SJSU. Sophomore goalkeeper Zoltan Der had four saves to go along with a save percentage of .364.
Game 2 vs Santa Clara
SJSU men’s water polo was at its peak when it bounced back in its first game of the day on Saturday. The team defeated Santa Clara (3-5, 0-0 WWPA) in a close game, 13-11.
SJSU spread around the ball well in this game as sophomore utility players Laszlo Szieben and Bence Szabo along with Kis each scored three goals in the match.
Defense was on full display as SJSU recorded 16 total blocks in the match. Sophomore goalkeeper Willem Simon and senior goalkeeper Colton Boyd combined for 11 of the Spartans’ 16 blocks.
Game 3 vs UC Irvine
The Spartans faced off against UC Irvine (6-6, 0-0 GCC) for their final game of the Invitational on Saturday, dropping the match in a close affair, 12-11.
Sophomore utility player Itay Nemet cut the UC Irvine lead to one with a goal in the final minute of the game. The Anteaters chewed up the clock and forced the Spartans into a tough final shot to tie the game.
Kis and Sophomore utility player Bende Pardi each had two goals. Der recorded one save and had a save percentage of .077.
Game 4 vs UC San Diego
SJSU faced UC San Diego (5-9, 2-0 WWPA) on Sunday. It would lose the match, 14-6.
The Spartans had an early lead in the first quarter. They would go up, 3-1 thanks to a Szabo goal.
The Tritons would come back and go on a 6-2 run to end the first half. Leading The Spartans, 7-5.
SJSU did not sustain their offensive output in the second half. The Spartans only scored one more goal in the final two quarters.
UC San Diego kept its foot on the gas as it scored seven more goals in the second half, icing out SJSU.
Freshman Garrett Johnson led the Spartans with two goals in the game.
Up next:
The Spartans will face Stanford on the road next on Oct. 1 with the game time to still be determined.