LOS ANGELES – No. 15 Loyola Marymount men's water polo suffered a pair of losses in Westwood on Saturday, falling to No. 1 UCLA, 24-12, before dropping a tightly contested 13-12 decision to No. 14 UC Santa Barbara.
The Lions move to 4-2 on the season after facing two nationally ranked opponents in their final tune-up before the MPSF Invite.
No. 1 UCLA 24, No. 15 LMU 12
LMU battled early against the nation's top-ranked team, trading goals with UCLA during an opening quarter that featured two goals from
Roman Saroyan and scores from
Luka Dimic and
Johnny Mendiburu.
After UCLA opened the scoring, Dimic tied the contest at 5:57 of the first quarter before Saroyan found the back of the net at 3:02. Mendiburu added a goal at 2:20, and Saroyan converted a penalty shot with 25 seconds remaining in the period to keep the Lions within striking distance.
Mateo Obando scored on a power play at the 6:30 mark of the second quarter, but UCLA closed the first half with four consecutive goals to build momentum.
The Lions continued to respond in the third period as
Bence Barics scored on a power play before Obando added his second goal of the game. Dimic then scored twice in the final 38 seconds of the quarter to keep LMU in the fight.
In the fourth,
Nico Furneaux converted a penalty shot and
Ian Moore and Barics each added late goals, but UCLA's offensive attack proved too much as the Bruins secured the victory.
Dimic paced the Lions with three goals, while Saroyan and Barics added two goals apiece. Furneaux finished with a goal and two assists, and Obando contributed two goals.
No. 14 UC Santa Barbara 13, No. 15 LMU 12
The Lions nearly responded with a victory in their second match of the day, but a scoreless third quarter proved costly in a one-goal loss to UC Santa Barbara.
LMU opened the game with back-to-back goals from Barics before
Nick Leung and
Eduardo Carraresi also scored in a high-scoring first quarter.
The Lions gained momentum in the second period, putting together a 3-0 run on goals by Carraresi, Leung and Obando, and helping LMU build a halftime advantage.
UC Santa Barbara flipped the contest in the third quarter, scoring four unanswered goals while holding the Lions scoreless to take control of the match.
LMU answered early in the fourth behind goals from Obando and
Soren Martin, but the Gauchos responded with a pair of goals from Luigi Canepa.
Roman Saroyan and Leung brought the Lions back within one in the closing minutes, yet UC Santa Barbara held on for the 13-12 victory.
Leung led LMU with four goals on eight shots, while Obando scored twice and added three steals.
Adrian Ramirez recorded eight saves, three steals and an assist in goal, and Furneaux contributed two assists, two steals and two exclusions drawn.
Up Next, the Lions will travel to Stanford, California, for the MPSF Invite beginning Friday, Sept. 18.
