Nov. 4, 2005
Los Angeles, CA (Nov. 4) - Just one game removed from posting a career-best 17 saves, junior goalie Ian Elliott made 11 saves and the 11th-ranked Loyola Marymount University men's water polo team used an impressive defensive effort for a 6-2 win over 10th-ranked UC Davis at the Burns Recreation and Aquatics Center on Friday afternoon.
The win improves the Lions' record to 14-14 on the season and 6-3 in WWPA play. It also avenges an earlier loss by the Lions to UC Davis (15-11), who defeated LMU 7-6 in overtime at the NorCal Open on Oct. 16. The teams are in a battle for the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds for the upcoming WWPA Championships, which will be held at the Burns Center on Nov. 17-19.
Both Elliott and UC Davis goalie Mike McGee are ranked in nation's top-five for saves and they showed why as both teams posted a shutout through the first period. While Elliott made three saves in the first frame and 11 for the game, the Lions kept McGee busy throughout as he finished with 17 saves, grabbing five in each of the first three quarter.
The Lions finally broke through McGee and opened the game with five unanswered goals, three coming in the second and two in the third. Junior Ben Easton scored the first goal of the game, hitting from just outside two-meter with 3:21 to play. LMU's leading scorer, senior Endre Rex-Kiss, then gave LMU a 2-0 lead with 2:08 remaining when he scored on the first of three extra-man attack goals for LMU. Easton then capped the second quarter scoring with another extra-man goal with just seven seconds left in the half.
Up 3-0 at the break, LMU came out with a goal from Cutberto Hernandez just 47 seconds into the third quarter. Junior Brian McShane capped the five-goal run when he scored with 3:33 remaining in the period. Elliott did his best to preserve the shutout with a stop on a penalty shot, but UC Davis finally got through Elliott on their second penalty shot two minutes later. Conor Duignan scored on the penalty try to make it 5-1 with 46 seconds remaining.
Patrick Jacobson and McShane traded goals in the fourth frame to close out the scoring. The Lions will take on Air Force on Saturday, Nov. 5 at 11:30 a.m. to finish regular season play at the Burns Center.
- GO LIONS -
