By Cesar Maya – Spear Reporter | Spartan player reaches for the ball on offensive play (Photo by Cesar Maya – Spear Photographer)
No. 9 San Jose State men’s water polo team (6-8, 0-0 WCC) played a close match against No. 14 UC Santa Barbara (16-8, 0-0 Big West) but fell 13-12 in the sixth period of play.
With two periods of play remaining, the only score in the fifth period came from UCSB. After another pivotal ejection from sophomore center Liam Dodunsky, sophomore driver Aidan Johnson scored in the sixth to tie the game once again.
After another goal in the last minute from the Gauchos, the Spartans were unable to push past their defense and win the game.
The Spartans’ offense was led by sophomore utility Sam Keightley, who scored 5 goals. His first goal of the game marked his 100th career goal, an added highlight after he was recently named to the 2026 Men’s Cutino Award Watch List.
Junior utility Samu Biros was another key player for the Spartans’ offense, scoring 4 goals and drawing one exclusion during the match.
Keightley and Biros not only led the offense for the majority of the game, but were the only two Spartans to score in the first half, with three points combined.
Although the team was able to score 2 points in the first quarter off drawn ejections from Keightley and Dodunsky, the Gauchos also benefited from ejections to end the quarter with 4 points.
The Gauchos extended their lead in the second quarter as they scored 2 points, and the Spartans only added 1 from Keightley off of an assist from junior driver Zalan Hegedus.
Going into the second half, the Spartans began gaining momentum, scoring 4 points in both quarters against the Gauchos, who only scored 2 and 3 points in the respective quarters.
This second half not only increased momentum, but also brought a more aggressive sense of play from the Spartans, with freshman goalkeeper Stellen Karkazis blocking a 5-meter attempt and Biros scoring near the goal without a cap.
This culminated in the fourth quarter as the score was tied 8-8, and the two teams went back and forth, ending 11-11 after a goal with less than 30 seconds left on the clock from Biros.
SJSU will continue to play today in the BW tournament against Saint Mary’s College at noon at the Spartan Recreation and Aquatics Center.
