By: Marco Munoz – Spear Reporter | Freshman goalkeeper Stellen Karkazis stares down West Valley College’s offense (Photo by Marco Munoz- Spear Photographer)
No. 9 San Jose State men’s water polo defeated West Valley College 13-10 in its home debut during an exhibition game in the Lee Walton Tournament Saturday morning.
Sophomore utility Sam Keightley led the Spartans with 4 goals.
The Spartans kicked off their eight-game homestand after a tough five-game stretch against top-ranked teams and a series of games on the East Coast.
“We have such a nice facility. Our fans are awesome. It’s great to be back home, “SJSU head coach Gabor Sarusi said. “We didn’t have to travel anywhere far, so our guys were looking forward to this weekend’s games.”
The Spartans have close ties to the Vikings program. Three members of the coaching staff and four players are alumni of West Valley College, including senior 2-meter Péter Kolos Kohári, junior driver Zalan Hegedus, junior 2-meter defender Mateja Cetkovic and junior 2-meter defender Sy Lazzaroni.
“I still live with some of the guys, so it was a lot of fun to play against them and banter a little bit,” Lazzaroni said.
Nine different Spartans scored a goal during the game. Sophomore center Liam Dodunski recorded 2 goals followed by Keightley’s four.
Sophomore driver Bence Kristok, junior utility Samu Biros, sophomore driver Aidan Johnson, freshman driver Palmer Macbeth, freshman driver Aron Sárfalvi, freshman driver Vince Biros and freshman driver Kai Lewis each scored 1 goal.
Senior goalkeeper Alexey Poletaev and freshman goalkeeper Stellen Karkazis split time in the net for the Spartans. Each recorded 5 saves.
The Spartans continue their homestand later today against UC Merced at noon Saturday at the Spartan Recreation and Aquatic Center in San Jose, Calif.
