By Sebastian Ramos- Spear Reporter – (photo by Nick Orozco – Co-Executive Editor of The Spear)
The San Jose State men’s water polo team ended a seven-year drought against Loyola Marymount with a thrilling 14-10 victory on Sunday at the Julian Fraser Memorial Tournament.
The win marks the first time the Spartans have defeated the Lions since 2017.
“It was the first time beating LMU in a long time, it was a nice win for us,” said head coach Gabor Sarusi .
The No. 13 ranked Spartans (13-9) entered the match as slight favorites over No. 18 LMU (9-13), but the game was anything but straightforward for SJSU. The two teams traded goals in a tense, back-and-forth battle especially in the second half of the match where the Spartans outscored the Lions 11-8.
San Jose State was led by junior 2-meter Maro Tiozzo with three goals of his own, as well as two goals from freshman driver Samu Biros, and sophomore utility Michell Keightley.
LMU’s offense was led by junior utility Richie Rimlinger scoring four goals in the second half of the match, keeping the Lions in contention.
However, the Spartans’ defensive resilience proved to be the difference-maker as they held off a late surge by the Lions to secure the win.
San Jose State comes back home for more conference play as they face California Baptist 12pm Friday at the Spartan Recreation and Aquatic Center.
