Bucknell University
UC Davis
Men's Water Polo Completes 5-0 Weekend in California
10/26/2014 7:43:00 PM | Men's Water Polo
SANTA CLARA, Calif. – The Bucknell men's water polo team made its annual trip to California for this weekend's Santa Clara Rodeo and will come home with a zero in the loss column. Playing a schedule that included four ranked opponents, Bucknell posted an unblemished 5-0 mark, concluding with a pair of one-goal victories on Sunday.
The Bison, who had never before gone undefeated on a trip to California, capped the impressive weekend with wins over No. 12 UC Davis by an 11-10 margin and unranked Fresno Pacific by a 9-8 score. Bucknell (12-6) also defeated No. 15 Santa Clara, No. 13 Air Force and No. 19 Cal Baptist this weekend.
Thanks to this weekend's success, the Bison now have seven wins over ranked foes and are 7-1 in their last eight matchups with ranked opponents.
Bucknell's current seven-game winning streak is its longest since winning seven in a row on a run to the 2012 Eastern Championship title game.
The Bison opened Sunday's action with the one-goal win over UC Davis (11-14) despite leading scorer Stefan Aleksic being held without a point. Freshman Grant Curry picked up some of the slack, scoring a season-high five goals. Sean Daley and Jeff Hagen contributed two goals apiece, while Nick Hale dished out three assists.
Bucknell trailed by two goals early in the second quarter, but the Bison registered five goals in the period to take a 7-6 lead into halftime.
The score was tied eight times during the game, including 10-10 midway through the fourth quarter. Hagen ended up netting what proved to be the winning goal with 2:26 to play, helping Bucknell knock off its highest ranked opponent since defeating No. 12 Princeton last October.
Fresno Pacific (10-10) was the final hurdle for an undefeated weekend. Curry was not in the scoring column for this game, but the Bison still opened a 2-0 lead midway through the second quarter. However, that was the largest lead of the game for either team as there were seven ties the rest of the way. Bucknell never trailed, though.
Hagen again netted the game winner against the Sunbirds, scoring the winning goal with 55 seconds on the clock.
Daley had an outstanding offensive game with three goals and three assists, while Aleksic registered two goals and an assist. Hale had four more assists, giving him a team-high 30 on the year.
Keegan Williams played all 64 minutes in cage in both of Sunday's games and totaled 18 saves, including 13 in the nightcap against Fresno Pacific.
Bucknell will return home Sunday night and begin preparation for its final regular-season contest, a 1 p.m. matchup with league foe Princeton Saturday, Nov. 1, at 1 p.m. at Kinney Natatorium.
Game 1
BUCKNELL 2 5 2 2 -11
UC DAVIS 3 3 2 2 -10
Goals: Curry (5), Daley (2), Hagen (2), Moore, Babic.
Assists: Hale (3), Daley, Babic, Stupp, Curry.
Saves: Williams (5 svs., 10 ga., 32:00 min.).
Bucknell Record: 11-6.
Game 2
BUCKNELL 0 3 4 2 -9
FRESNO PACIFIC 0 2 4 2 -8
Goals: Daley (3), Aleksic (2), Moore (2), Hale, Hagen.
Assists: Hale (4), Daley (3), Aleksic.
Saves: Williams (13 svs., 8 ga., 32:00 min.).
Bucknell Record: 12-6.
