USAFA, Colo. – The University of California, Merced men's water polo team fell 19-7 to Cal State Fullerton and 20-9 to Air Force on Sunday on the final day of the Rare Air Invitational.
The Bobcats (0-5) played a tightly contested first half, but both opponents pulled away in the third quarter and never looked back.
Andrew Jones, Evan Ladeairous, and Vincent Labonte each scored three goals on the day and had a multi-goal game against Cal State Fullerton. Matthew King scored a goal in each contest.
Game One | Cal State Fullerton 19, UC Merced 7
The Bobcats and Titans went goal-for-goal in the first half and a Ladeairous goal gave UC Merced its first lead of the game at 4-3 at the 6:36 mark of the second quarter. Cal State Fullerton bounced back from their deficit with a 4-0 run from four different goal scorers. Labonte and Tommy Bauer responded to trim the deficit to 7-6 at intermission.
Weston Oliver tied the game 7-7 to start the second half. However, that was the Bobcats final goal and Cal State Fullerton outscored the Bobcats 12-0 the rest of the way. The Titans led 14-7 at the end of three and then added five more goals in the fourth quarter for the 19-7 final result.
Game Two | Air Force 20, UC Merced 9
Ladeairous scored the games first goal in the opening minute. After two Air Force goals, Patrick Jones tied the game 2-2 with his first career goal and then Aydann Hambruch regained the Bobcats lead with a goal of his own at the 2:31 mark of the first quarter. A. Jones made it 4-2 on a penalty shot 15 seconds later. Though, the Falcons scored three consecutive goals in the final 90 seconds and held a 5-4 lead at the first quarter buzzer.
Air Force and UC Merced traded goals for the first two minutes of the second period as the Falcons led 7-6. Air Force scored the next three goals to go up 10-6 before the Bobcats got back into the scoring column and cut the deficit to 11-8 at halftime.
The home team took over in the second half and left no doubt on their way to their tenth win of the season. Air Force scored six goals and shutout the Bobcats in the third quarter extending its lead to 17-8. The Falcons made it 19-8 before James Soto put an end to the second half shutout. Soto's goal was the only second half goal for UC Merced.
Looking ahead, the Bobcats will travel to Southlake, Tex., for a four-match weekend hosted by Austin College September 13-14. The Bobcats will play NCAA Division III opponents Washington and Jefferson, Connecticut College, Austin College, and Johns Hopkins.
