By Andrew Hartley (@andrewhart1ey) – Spear Reporter
SJSU freshman goalkeeper Brendon Gyapjas celebrates a crucial penalty shot save. | Photo by Andrew Hartley – The Spear
Unfortunately for SJSU men’s water polo, not all Cinderella runs can end happily.
Making the NCAA tournament for the first time in 50 years, its (13-9, 4-2 WCC) season came to an end against No. 3 USC (16-6, 1-5 MPSF) by a score of 18-10.
The Spartans had all the momentum in the world coming into Friday night. They won their first-ever West Coast Conference Championship and allowed just over six goals a game.
This was mostly because of the tournament MVP, SJSU freshman goalkeeper Brendon Gyapjas. Gyapjas averaged 18 saves per game in the tournament but on Friday, the script flipped.
Five different Trojans scored multiple goals and scored the most goals SJSU allowed all season. They showed SJSU why they were ranked No. 1 nationally coming into the contest.
Notably, USC’s Massimo Di Martire scored his 100th career goal in the third quarter. The goal was one of six allowed in the third quarter. With six also being conceded in the second quarter, it was the most goals allowed in a span of two periods this season by SJSU.
Offensively, SJSU was still able to create scoring chances and reached double-digit goals for the 18th time this season.
SJSU was once again led by driver Manteja Bosic, who scored three goals to finish with a team-leading 44 to end the year.
Spartans associate head coach Gabor Sarusi did remarkable work in the 2023 season. He returned SJSU to tournament play for the first time in half a century. The team won their final eight of nine games to make an appearance in the NCAA tournament.
Sarusi even led them to a conference championship after finishing 0-5 in conference play just a year ago. For a team that’s been reinstated for less than a decade, the turnaround is exceptional.
While this isn’t a glorious finish to the season, the finish certainly trends toward a positive future trajectory.