PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The University of California, Merced men's water polo team (1-14, 0-3) dropped a pair of games on the final day of the Harvard Invitational, falling 16-12 to LIU and 17-11 to Brown.
Altug Misirli Jr. led the Bobcats with six goals on the day, including tying his season-high with four goals against LIU. The sophomore has four hat tricks or better this season and five multi-goal games. Andrew Jones recorded five goals, netting a season-high four against Brown. He also has four hat tricks or better with nine multi-goal games overall.
Match One | LIU 16, UC Merced 12
Patrick Jones scored on the Bobcats first possession, however that would mark the Bobcats only goal of the quarter. LIU got rolling and scored four in the frame to take a 4-1 lead going into the second period.
Christopher Bettencourt opened the scoring in the second quarter with his first goal of the season. Evan Ladeairous followed with a goal the next trip down the field to bring the Bobcats within one. LIU avoided the game being tied with goals at the 2:58 and 1:10 marks. A. Jones deposited a shot into the back of the net with 1:32 on the clock. UC Merced trailed 6-4 at halftime.
The third quarter was the highest scoring of the match with a combined 12 goals. LIU dented the twine twice early to double up the Bobcats with an 8-4 lead, but the Bobcats responded with a 3-0 goal scoring run over the next few minutes to pull back within a goal midway through the quarter including a score from Noah Defaii. LIU broke up the Bobcats run at the 3:03 mark and had a 4-1 burst in a hurry to go up 12-8. Misirli Jr. scored before the end of the quarter, but the Bobcats trailed 13-9 heading into the fourth.
LIU deposited a shot into the back of the net 90 seconds into the fourth quarter to register the biggest lead of the game, a five-goal lead at 14-9. Bettencourt and Misirli Jr. answered over the next four minutes to keep the Bobcats in the game, trailing 14-11 with 2:43 left. However, the Bobcats were unable to get any closer. LIU scored the next two goals to lead 16-11. Matthew King got one goal back for the Bobcats in the closing seconds in defeat.
Match Two | Brown 17, UC Merced 11
Brown found offensive success on its first two possessions and outscored the Bobcats 6-1 overall in the first quarter to create early separation. Noah Hernandez accounted for the Bobcats only first quarter goal, coming at the 6:06 mark.
Brown took an 8-1 lead early in the second quarter and led by as many as eight goals at 11-3 inside the final minute. The Bears lead was 11-5 at halftime. Despite the deficit, A. Jones and Misirli Jr. each scored twice in the second quarter. James Soto also scored one.
Andrew Jones put in the first goal of the third quarter but it wasn't enough to build any momentum. LIU scored the next three goals to match their biggest lead of the game at eight goals, 14-6 with 3:33 left in the third. Jakee Chacon found the back of the net, but Brown answered right back and led 14-7 going into the final frame.
UC Merced scored four fourth quarter goals but never cut the deficit to less than five. Soto, A. Jones, Misirli Jr., and Chacon accounted for the Bobcats fourth quarter scoring in the 17-11 loss.
Matthew Lloyd and Ethan Stocker split time in the cage throughout the day.
Up next, UC Merced will play Iona to start the Julian Fraser Memorial on Friday, October 23. Santa Clara will host the match at Sullivan Aquatic Center in Santa Clara, Calif., with the opening sprint scheduled for 3:20pm.
