By: Mohammad Najimi (@mnajimisjsu) – Spear Reporter | Spartans’ junior driver Michael Minera looks to keep the opponent from passing to a teammate in the game against Stanford on Sept. 26. (Photo by Javen Takhar – Spear Photographer)
In a close West Coast Conference contest that went down to the last whistle, No. 7 San Jose State Spartans (6-5, 1-1) lost to the No. 18 University of the Pacific Tigers (8-5, 2-1), 13–12, Saturday afternoon at the Chris Kjeldsen Pool.
A contest that began as a strategic, back-and-forth battle soon became a defensive tug-of-war, with SJSU coming up just short in the end.
The Spartans got on the board first as junior utility Mitchell Keightley scored two minutes into the first quarter.
The Tigers would answer immediately as redshirt senior attacker Daniel Viscia received a pass from freshman wing Petar Popovic and shot the ball past SJSU goalkeeper Brendon Gyapjas.
SJSU held a 4–3 lead after the first quarter, but Pacific matched their scoring in a 4–3 second period.
That left both teams tied at seven apiece at halftime, with neither side able to build more than a two-goal advantage in the first half.
The second half began with a Pacific run, tallying three goals in a row out of halftime to take the lead — a lead they would hold for the duration of the game despite SJSU comebacks.
As the clock ticked down in the fourth quarter, the Spartans pressured with a sense of urgency, creating a number of late chances to score.
A desperate shot from freshman utility Sam Keightley went on goal as the final seconds ticked away, but Pacific’s goalkeeper Kiss Gergely made the stop to seal the Tigers’ 13–12 victory.
Leading the way among the Spartan attackers was sophomore driver Samu Biros, who had a five-goal outing.
Sam Keightley also contributed a strong offensive performance with three goals of his own.
Senior two-meter Maro Tiozzo, Mitchell Keightley, senior utility László Szieben and junior utility Louis Fehrensen all contributed to the scoring cause with a goal apiece.
The Tigers employed a balanced offense led by Viscia with four goals, and freshman utility Borisz Kasa-Gal added three.
Pacific got two goals from Popovic and sophomore center Ori Buzaglo for a well-distributed scoring threat that proved to be the difference.
Gergely led the Tigers’ defense with 11 saves, including three saves in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter that preserved their slim lead.
On the SJSU end, Gyapjas held his ground in the cage and had six saves as he was bombarded by a wild Pacific offense that just ran at them in transition.
SJSU will look to bounce back as they visit Santa Clara University at 1 p.m. this Saturday at the SRAC for another West Coast Conference match.
