Score: UC Davis 15, UC Santa Barbara 7
Location: Irvine, Calif. (Anteater Aquatics Complex)
Record: UC Davis 14-12, UC Santa Barbara 17-14
The short story: 11 saves on the day for goalkeeper Baxter Chelsom led UC Davis men’s water polo to a Big West semifinals win over UC Santa Barbara on Saturday, Nov. 22. The Aggies play for Big West supremacy against Long Beach State tomorrow at 12:00 p.m.
POST-GAME PRESS CONFERENCE
HOW IT HAPPENED
Taking a pass from Timothy Kerr three minutes in, Colin Nicholls got the Aggies on the board.
Oleg Shatskikh followed that up with a goal of his own a minute later to give his team an early 2-0 lead.
The Gauchos responded with a pair of scores of their own, but Max Prokhin and Thomas Marr added to the Aggie scoring to give their team a 4-2 lead after one.
Two quick goals from UCSB tied things at four apiece early in the second quarter before William Fosselman got his first.
With two minutes left in the half, Sam McKenzie tied it for the Gauchos. But Adam Ting, Shatskikh, and Oriol Viñas went back-to-back-to-back as Davis went up 8-5 going into the break.
Despite an early goal from their opponent, quarter three was all defense for Chelsom and the Aggies, with the lone score coming from Shatskikh to give his team a 9-6 advantage going into the final period.
The fourth quarter saw an avalanche of goals from Davis, with tallies from Marr, Shatskikh, Prokhin, Andrew Hitchcock, and Thomas Kiesling leading a six-goal period for their team.
Santa Barbara scored a late goal, but that would spell victory for the Aggies, who would roll to a 15-7 win.
UP NEXT: The Big West championship will be decided on Sunday, Nov. 23, at 12:00 p.m. PT when the Aggies face off against top-seeded Long Beach State. The match will be streamed live on ESPN+, and fans can follow along with livestats on TheFosh.
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