SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Despite Boris Jovanovic's hat trick, the No. 7 UCSB men's water polo team (8-5) was unable to knock off No. 1 UCLA (20-0), as the Bruins continued their perfect season with the 10-7 victory at Campus Pool on Thursday.
Jovanovic was busy the entire night with a match-high 13 shots attempted, as he also emerged as the contest's leading scorer. It was the third time the sophomore has tallied at least three goals this season, and the second time in three games.
Reed Cotterill – the reigning GCC Player of the Week – also added two goals to the Gaucho effort.
In the cage,
Liam Lenihan played all 32 minutes and came up with six saves and four steals, which was the lion's share of UCSB's eight total steals.
It was the night of the power play, as 10 of the 17 total goals (five per team) were scored via 6-on-5 matchups. That trend started early with UCLA scoring in the opening minute on a power play, as the team would later grab a 2-0 lead by the 2:11 mark. The Bruins would eventually hold a 3-1 edge at the break, as Jovanovic provided UCSB's lone goal.
The Gauchos would respond in the second by outscoring the Bruins 3-2 in the period. Shane Hauschild got the scoring started for UCSB after capitalizing on a power play opportunity, while he would later assist on the team's final goal of the half after feeding the ball inside to Samer Alkateb.
By the 3:55 mark, UCSB was trailing 5-4 and were able to keep UCLA scoreless until the halftime break.
But right after the teams re-entered the pool in the third, the Bruins took off with back-to-back goals from Max Irving and Chancellor Ramirez. And after 3:45 minutes of scoreless water polo for the Gauchos, Cotterill put his team on the board with a skip shot after hauling in the lob pass from Josh Jordan. Jovanovic would later cap off the quarter with his final goal of the night with five seconds left.
The Gauchos would later score one more goal in the fourth thanks to Cotterill, but it wasn't enough as UCLA padded its lead with two more goals to seal the win.
UCSB will be back at Campus Pool tomorrow night at 7 p.m. to host San Jose State in its first GCC game of the season. Tickets are available online, over the phone at 805.893.UCSB (8272), and at the Ticketing Office in the Intercollegiate Athletics Building.
