LOS ANGELES – Coming off the team's conference opener, #15 LMU men's water polo hosted non-conference opponent #4 UC Santa Barbara on Saturday. The Gauchos took the game at Burns Aquatic Center, 20-12.
Blazo Mitrovic opened the day with his first of a game-high five goals to push LMU ahead early. After UCSB tied the score, the Lions responded with the next three goals of the period, as Mitrovic scored for a second time and was followed by goals from
Alexandros Athymaritis and
David Carrasco. The Gauchos would climb right back into it, scoring the final three goals of the quarter to make it a 4-4 game after the first period of play.
UC Santa Barbara added two goals to start the second quarter, before
Joseph Cavazos and Carrasco went back-to-back to tie the game back up at 6-all. The Gauchos would respond with the next four goals before
Tyler Harvey scored in the final 33 seconds before halftime to make it a 10-7 game at intermission.
Mitrovic opened the second half with a goal to cut into the deficit and make it a two-goal deficit, 10-8. The Gauchos built their lead back up, scoring the next four goals in a row before Mitrovic put an end to the run with his fourth goal of the game. UCSB scored on the next possession, then Mitrovic responded with his fifth goal with 1:08 to place. Santa Barbara scored at the buzzer to take a 16-10 lead.
The fourth quarter saw UCSB increase their lead by one before
Jack Baumgardner and
Max Walsworth scored a goal each to bring the score to 17-12 with 2:42 to play. The Gauchos closed out the game with the final three goals.
Robert Halligan played the first three quarters in goal and made five saves before
Jeff Muller closed out the final period and recorded three saves of his own including stopping a two-meter penalty shot.
The Lions will next face Biola on Saturday at home in a conference match.
