STOCKTON, Calif. – The No. 1 UCLA men’s water polo team outlasted host and 10th-ranked Pacific in a hard-fought 13-11 decision Friday afternoon at Douglass M. Eberhardt Aquatics Complex. The Bruins never trailed, but twice saw Pacific cut its deficit to one goal in the second half.
Ben Liechty notched his third hat trick in as many games for UCLA (3-0), leading the charge. Luka Gladović added two goals in his first career game. Ben Larsen also scored twice. Griffen Price turned away eight shots in the cage for the Bruins. The Tigers were led Borisz Kasa-Gal and Gabor Holl, who scored four goals and three goals, respectively.
Goals were traded in the opening quarter, but UCLA tallied the first and last ones for a 3-2 lead. Larsen started matters with a power-play strike. Liechty and Ryder Dodd added even-strength efforts.
Kasa-Gal tied the score for Pacific on a penalty shot at 5:50 of the second frame. Back-to-back answers by Peter Castillo (5:35) and Brinkema (5:05) provided a momentary cushion for the Bruins before Petar Popovic narrowed it to one again going into halftime.
UCLA’s lead grew to three thanks to early third-quarter goals by Gladović and Merrill, the second of which coming on a six-on-five opportunity. The Tigers provided another answer, though, scoring four of the period’s last six goals. Liechty netted his second and Chase McFarland got on the scoreboard with an extra man for the Bruins.
Gladović opened scoring once more in the fourth, at 5:49. The game’s last six goals all came in the final four minutes. Holl and Kasa-Gal kept Pacific in striking distance, but Liechty (11-9, 4:47), Larsen (2:21, 12-9) and Marcell Szécsi (13-10, 0:51) came up clutch for UCLA. Szécsi’s final tally came on a power play.
No. 1 UCLA 13, No. 10 Pacific 10
| SCOREBOARD | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | FINAL |
| No. 1 UCLA | 3 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 13 |
| No. 10 Pacific | 2 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 11 |
6x5: UCLA 4/6, Pacific 4/10
Penalties: UCLA 0/0, Pacific 2/3
UCLA Goals: Liechty 3, Gladović 2, Larsen 2, Brinkema 1, Castillo 1, Dodd 1, McFarland 1, Merrill 1, Szecsi 1
UCLA Saves: Price 8
Pacific Goals: Kasa-Gal 4, Holl 3, Biedermann, Fernandez 1, Popovic 1, Tomozi 1
Pacific Saves: Gergely 8