LOS ANGELES, Calif. – The University of California, Merced men's water polo team earned their first win of the season at the Gary Troyer Tournament over the weekend, beating Caltech 20-10. The Bobcats (1-11) played four matches overall playing to a 1-3 record at Gary Troyer. UC Merced fell 18-17 in sudden death to University of La Verne, 12-6 to Augustana, and 15-8 to Occidental.
In the victory over Caltech, the Bobcats 20 goals tied the second highest goals output in program history.
Camden Peterson led the Bobcats offense combining for 18 goals over the weekend, including setting the program's single-match scoring record against an intercollegiate varsity team with nine goals at La Verne. Peterson also became the first player in program history to surpass 100 career goals. Following his nine-goal outing, Peterson had five goals against Caltech, three against Occidental, and one against Augustana.
Vincent Labonte was also a big contributor offensively recording hat tricks against Caltech and Occidental and adding a goal against La Verne.
Andrew Jones and William Pezold scored at least one goal in every match and had a hat trick apiece. Jones' hat trick was against Caltech, while the sophomore also had three assists in the win and had four assists against La Verne.
Other goal scorers over the weekend include Evan Ladeairous (3), James Soto (3), Tommy Bauer (2), Howie Zeff (2), Oscar Luna (1), Aydann Hambruch (1), and Hayden Markell (1). The goal for Luna (Caltech) and Markell (La Verna) marked the first of their careers.
Matthew Lloyd played all 128 minutes in goal for the Bobcats at Gary Troyer and had a weekend-high 13 saves against La Verne. He stopped ten shots against Caltech and Occidental, while recording nine saves against first-time opponent Augustana.
The Bobcats sudden death match against La Verne was the first sudden death match in program history. After trailing 3-0 after six and a half minutes of action, the Bobcats fought back and were tied at the end of the first quarter and trailed by just one at intermission. Head coach Johnny Bega's squad took their first lead of the game when William Pezold beat the third quarter buzzer to put the Bobcats up 10-9. However, La Verne scored the first four goals in the fourth quarter forcing the Bobcats to come back, which they did via two goals from Peterson and one from Hambruch, to force overtime.
It was a tale of two overtimes as the Bobcats outscored La Verne 3-1 in the first three minutes, but it was the Leopards to match that scoreline in the second overtime period. Then in sudden death and after a few trips up and down the field for both teams, La Verne's Jordan Baker scored the game-winning at even strength with just 24 seconds left.
In the 20-goal outburst and win over Caltech, the Bobcats scored five first quarter goals and kept rolling en route to a 10-4 lead at halftime. Peterson and Labonte each scored two first quarter goals, while Jones had a hat trick in the second quarter alone to help lead the Bobcats to their halftime advantage.
Bega's team extended their lead to double figures with 2:48 left in the third quarter with Luna's first career goal. Soto and Zeff tacked on a goal each shortly after to push the advantage to 17-6 heading into the fourth quarter. The two teams traded goals over the last eight minutes, resulting in the 20-10 Bobcats win.
In the losses to Augustana and Occidental, the Bobcats were within two goals early in the second quarter but couldn't pull any closer the rest of the way. UC Merced kept battling though and were within three in the third quarter.
Up next, UC Merced will play three-time defending national champion and sixth-ranked California on Saturday, October 12. Opening sprint from Spieker Aquatics Complex in Berkeley, Calif., is scheduled for 3:00pm.
