PALO ALTO, Calif. – The 12^th-ranked UCI men's water polo team fell to No. 6 Pacific, 14-11, on the first day of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Invitational, Friday in Palo Alto.
 
With the loss, UCI drops to 5-8 on the season. UOP improves to 7-5 overall.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
> Bryant Jourdrie, Jon Polos, Jack Trush and Jared Gornay each scored twice for UCI
> Jason Evezard, Zlatan Nikocevic, and Ian Fleenor had one goal apiece
> Byron Rivers played all four quarters in goal and made eight saves
> Polos won two sprints for UCI
> Engin Ege Colak led the Tigers with a game-high seven goals
> John Hedges made 20 saves in goal for UOP
 
TURNING POINTS
> UCI took an early 3-2 lead after the first quarter with goals from Polos, Joudrie and Evezard
> Nikocevic opened up the second quarter with an early goal to give the 'Eaters a 4-2 lead
> The teams exchanged back-and-forth goals before Gornay scored with 3:47 to play in the second quarter to give UCI a 6-4 lead
> Colak notched a goal with just under a minute to play to close the gap and make it, 7-6, at the half
> UOP tallied a quick goal early in the third frame to knot the game, 7-7, as the teams continued the back-and-forth affair
> The Tigers scored as time expired in the third quarter to take a slight, 10-9, into the fourth frame
> UOP out-scored UCI 4-2 in the final quarter to seal the win
> Polos and Gornay each had a goal in the fourth quarter but it wasn't enough as the Tigers won, 14-11
 
NOTES
> UCI moves to 63-19 all-time against the Tigers but has lost the last nine matches
> This was the second meeting between the two teams this season as UOP earned an 11-09 win last week
> Evezard has now scored at least one goal in every match this season
> Trush ups his career-goal count to 96
 
UP NEXT
> UCI continues play at the MPSF Invite and will face No. 18 San Jose State in its first game tomorrow at 12:00 p.m.