UCLA
Pacific
No. 1 UCLA Rallies Past No. 4 Pacific, 8-5
September 24, 2016 | Men's Water Polo
Patrick Fellner led the Bruins with four goals against the Tigers.
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BERKELEY, Calif.ย --ย The top-ranked UCLA Bruins improved to 14-0 on the year with an 8-5 victory over No. 4 Pacific (11-1) in the semifinalsย of the Mountain Pacific Invitational at California's Spieker Aquatics Complex on Saturday afternoon.ย It marked UCLA's 47th-straight victory,ย which extends the second-longest winning streak in school history. The all-time record is 50, which was established from 1964-68.
Senior Patrick Fellner again led the Bruins with a season-high-tying four goals against the Tigers after scoring four goals against Pepperdine earlier in the day. Senior Garrett Danner returned to the cageย playing his first full game of the season, registering 11 saves for the second straight game while allowing five goals (only one in the second half).
Pacific got on the board first with a power play goal from Tim Reeves (3:30). Junior Matt Farmer tied it up at 1-1 with a goal from set (2:22). But the Tigers got another power play score, this time from Engin Ege Colak (0:29), giving Pacific a 2-1 lead at the end of the first.
Senior Gordon Marshall tied things up at 2-2 with a goal at set on the first possession of the second period (7:32). But Pacific immediately reclaimed the lead with a goal from the front court by Aleksandar Petrovic (7:11). The Tigers then built their largest lead at 4-2 with another score from the front court by Luke Pavillard (2:06). Fellner scored his first of the game on a power play to end the scoring in the second (0:52), trimming the Tigers' lead to 4-3 at the half.
Like it did in the earlier game vs. the Waves, UCLA dominated the third period, 5-1, with Fellner scoring three more goals. Junior Alexย Roelse kicked off the scoring in the quarter with a goal from the front court (7:23). Then came two scores from Fellner (6:42 and 3:16) to make it 6-4 UCLA.ย Senior Ryder Roberts made it five unanswered goals with a goal from the front court (2:40) to push the lead to 7-4. Devon Thumwood scored a power play goal for the Tigers (1:03) to cut the lead to 7-5. It would be the only score for Pacific of the second half. Fellner added his fourth of the game and his third of the period (0:44) to end the scoring with UCLA heading into the fourth with an 8-5 advantage.
Both teams put up solid defensive efforts in a scoreless fourth quarter with Danner collecting three more saves and UCLA picking up two steals, getting two field blocks and denying the Tigers on all three power plays in the final stanza.
The Bruins return to action on Sunday, Sept. 25ย at 2:30 p.m. when they face the winner of No. 2 USC/No. 3 Californiaย in the championship game of the Mountain Pacific Invitational at California's Spieker Aquatics Complex.
No. 4 Pacificย vs. No. 1 UCLAย (Mountain Pacific Invitational - Semifinals)
| SCOREBOARD | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
| No. 4 Pacific | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| No. 1 UCLA | 1 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 8 |
6x5 -ย UCLA - 2/5 - PAC - 3/10
Penalties -ย UCLA - 0/0 - PAC - 0/0
UCLA Goals:ย Patrick Fellner 4, Ryder Roberts 1, Gordon Marshallย 1, Alex Roelse 1, Matt Farmer 1ย
UCLAย Saves:ย Garrett Dannerย 11
Pacific Goals:ย Aleksandar Petrovic 1, Engin Ege Colak 1, Luke Pavillard 1, Tim Reeves 1, Devon Thumwood 1
Pacific Saves:ย n/a
