LOS ANGELES, Calif. – The No. 11 UC Santa Barbara men's water polo team stuck close with No. 1 UCLA early on, but a huge second quarter for the Bruins saw the Gauchos fall 12-7 on Thursday at Dirks Pool at Spieker Aquatics Center.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Goalscorers: Brosnan (2), Hawkins (2), Oriskovich (2), McFarland
Saves: D. Roland (12)

The Bruins opened the scoring just 42 seconds in, but senior attacker Tommy Hawkins would tie it at 1-1 on the following possession. Santa Barbara (10-11) went on to hold the country's top-ranked team to just one goal until the second quarter.

After the low-scoring opening period, the game would change in a big way. Goals by Ryan Brosnan and Hawkins would keep things level at 3-3 midway through the second, but the Bruins would outscore UCSB 8-3 in the quarter. It was UCLA's highest-scoring quarter of the season.

UCSB would get two-goal outings from Brosnan, Hawkins and James Oriskovich. Goalkeeper Danny Roland had another huge day defending the net with 12 saves, including five in the first quarter.

NEXT UP
The Gauchos will now prepare to host No. 8 UC Irvine this Saturday at 12:00 p.m. at Campus Pool in their GCC home opener.