“USC is Going Home Sad Tonight”
“USC is going home sad tonight,” says Declan McJilton, ‘25, after Friday night’s game. This sentiment reigns true as our Pacific Tigers brought their A-game to this competition after facing a loss against #1 ranked Cal at Berkeley on September 9th. The energy at Chris Kjeldsen pool was electric.
Going into Friday Night’s game, the fanbase and Pacific Athletics alike were excited to see what the Tigers were going to bring to this game. Spectators definitely showed out. Before the game had even begun, the bleachers at Chris Kjeldsen Pool were completely filled with students, faculty, and Pacific water polo fans. Some of these fans, seated behind the pool, were Women’s Water Polo players Clara Vulpisi and Lucy Davis. When asked what she was looking forward to for the rest of this season, Vulpisi voiced her high hopes for the Men’s team, “Hopefully, them winning a national championship. So, that’s the goal. They have to win conference first, but that’s the ultimate goal, I think.”
She is not the only one with high hopes about the team this year. Prior to the game, Alex Leroux, Assistant Director of Pacific Athletics, speaks to what is different about this 2022 lineup versus the highly-ranked 2019 Pacific Men’s Water Polo team. “In 2019, we hosted the NCAA’s here, and we actually lost in the championship game. Ever since then, there has been a chip on this team’s shoulder to go and get it…This team has a lot of expectations. A lot of high hopes, if you will. They kind of have the talent of that 2019 team. They also have even more culture… they are syncing better than the 2019 team.”
During the game, fans were able to see some high energy gameplay from our #5 ranked Pacific Tigers. Leading the game in goals were senior Matthew Hosmer and sophomore Mihailo Vukazic, who each scored 4 goals. Co-captains Jeremie Cote and Reuel D’Souza scored 3 goals and 2 goals respectively. Finally, senior, Bogdan Djerkovic, scored 2 goals securing the Tigers a win over USC 15-13.
A major highlight of this game was sophomore Mihailo Vukazic’s goal with one second left on the clock from halfway across the pool. Following Vukazic’s goal, the crowd of Pacific fans erupted in cheers to celebrate the triumphant win over USC at the home opener.
After the game, when asked how the team was able to overcome such a strong opponent like USC, co-captain Jeremie Cote responded, “We knew there was going to be some ups and we knew there was going to be some downs. So, our biggest goal was just staying together, and not losing our heads, and just keep playing.” And after seeing this game, it is easy to see the synergy and strength of this year’s Men’s Water Polo team. This was a strong game and a fierce win for the Tigers, and we look forward to seeing what this team can accomplish for the rest of this season.
Men’s Water Polo only has 3 home games remaining this season. These games are October 15th against Pepperdine for Homecoming Weekend, October 22nd against Stanford, and October 28th against UC Irvine. Come out and show your support for your fellow Tigers!
The Men’s NCAA Water Polo championships will be held at Cal this year on December 4th and 5th.
