Oct. 3, 2009

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Postgame quotes from junior Andrew Aki

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - The LMU men's water polo team used another stellar defensive effort to claim an 8-4 win over Western Water Polo Association foe and 12th-ranked UC Davis at the Burns Recreation and Aquatics Center Saturday afternoon. With the win, the Lions are off to their best start in program history.

The Lions improve to 10-2 on the season overall and 6-0 against the WWPA. It is the 23rd straight win for LMU against their conference. Eight of the Lions wins this season have come against ranked opponents.

LMU's fast start was once again tied to their league-leading defense and balanced offense. The Lions, who are third in the nation by allowing just over five goals per game, kept UC Davis off the board in the first half and finished holding an opponent at five goals or less for the eighth time this season.

Offensively, leading scorer Edgaras Asajavicius added a pair of goals to his total, giving him 26 on the year. Showing their balance, sophomore Charlie Horton also had a pair of goals for LMU. He entered the game with just one on the season.

The Lions scored a pair of goals in the first quarter and another pair in the second to build a 4-0 halftime lead. Horton then scored the first goal of the second half to run the lead to 5-0 before UC Davis would score. The Aggies cut the lead to 5-2 with 2:09 to play in the third quarter.

However, Daniel Smith and Horton would close the third quarter and open the fourth with back-to-back goals to put the game away.

LMU heads to the UCI Invitational (formally the NorCal Invitational) next weekend as the field once again features 15 ranked teams in the 16-team field. The Lions open with No. 13 UC San Diego at 12 noon. It is the third meeting this season between the rivals.