By Christian Vieyra(@thecvieyra)– Spear Reporter| Photo by Titus Wilkinson | Spartans’ sophomore Maro Tiozzo attempts a shot in a match against Princeton on Oct. 20 at Santa Clara University.
No. 14 SJSU men’s water polo (7-8) won three of five matches in the Julian Fraser Memorial tournament, toppling No. 16 Fordham, Long Island and Fresno Pacific. The Spartans fell short in matches against the Ivy League’s No. 6 Princeton and No. 18 Harvard.
Associate head coach Gabor Sarusi noted that the weekend consisted of a lot of ups and downs.
“We were able to work on a lot of things that we needed to get ready for our league games. I think everybody got a lot of playing time, so not a bad weekend overall,” Sarusi said.
Late score to defeat Fordham
With the game tied 8-8 in the final minutes, Spartans’ sophomore Erik Duesund scored his lone goal which was the go–ahead goal with two minutes left. SJSU went on to win the match 10-8 in its first match of the weekend tournament on Oct. 20 at Santa Clara University.
Sophomore Mateja Bosic and sophomore Maro Tiozzo led the Spartans with three goals each. SJSU’s senior Connor Macmillan, junior Bence Szabo and freshman Louis Fehrensen also tallied a goal.
Close loss to Princeton
The Spartans lost in a tightly contested second match to the Tigers 10-9, in which the fourth quarter alone had three lead changes.
Spartans’ senior Gal Haimovich tallied a team-leading three goals in the match and Bosic followed him with two. SJSU’s freshman goalkeeper Brendon Gyapjas had 13 saves during the match.
This match left the Spartans with a split record on the day in Santa Clara and they looked to regroup the next day at home.
Outdueled by Harvard
SJSU lost its first quarter lead and never got it back in the second day of tournament play in a 12-10 loss to Harvard on Oct. 22 at the Student Recreation and Aquatic Center in San Jose.
Spartans’ senior Mark Kis and Tiozzo led the match with two goals each for SJSU.
Harvard’s offensive attack was too much for the Spartans as the Crimson’s sophomore James Rozolis-Hill had a four–score day.
Two hat-tricks topple Long Island
SJSU garnered its second win of the weekend defeating the Sharks 16-8 on Oct. 22 at the Student Recreation and Aquatic Center.
Spartans’ Szabo and freshman Péter Kolos Kohári both had a hat-trick in the sound win over Long Island.
Senior goalkeeper Colton Boyd kept the Sharks tame with 14 saves in the match.
Commanding win over Fresno Pacific
The Spartans biggest win came on the final match of the tournament, defeating the Sunbirds 19-5 in dominant fashion.
The Sunbirds were outshot by the Spartans 41 to 21.
Spartans’ senior goalkeeper Jamie Steingraf held Fresno Pacific to one goal in the second half.
SJSU had 11 different goal scorers, in part because of the big lead the Spartans held allotting more playing time for the younger players. “We have a big freshman class that still needs the game experience and confidence. So it was very important for them to get the extra minutes and extra goals,” Sarusi said.