DAVIS — In the small sport of men's NCAA Water Polo, the Division III Oxy Tigers had the opportunity to play against Division I household names like Stanford, UC Berkeley, and the Naval Academy at the Aggie Shootout last weekend.
Game #1 Occidental-9 Cal Baptist-16
Pre-Game Notes:
-CBU was the only unranked team in the tournament that the Tigers played against.
-The two teams last met in October of 2013 with the Lancers winning that match 19-8
Highlights:
-Seven different Tigers scored in the game for Oxy, as the Tigers continue to use a balanced offense that is averaging goals from over five different players a game.
-Freshman Dominic Rodriguez ended a three-game scoring drought by converting on his only shot. The first year standout also drew a team-high four exclusions in the game.
-Sophomore Goalie Adam Florsheim reached double digits in saves (15) for the fifth time seven games this season.
Box Score 1st 2nd 3rd 4th TOTAL
Occidental 3 2 2 2 9
CBU 5 6 2 3 16
Occidental Stats:
Goals/Attempts: Akiyama-2/4, Rothwell-2/3, Virshup-1/5, Heffner-1/2, Franscioni-1/2, Bergevin-1/2, Rodriguez-1/1, Munet-0/1, Weiser-0/3
Steals: Florsheim-2, Bergevin-1, Heffner-1, Sinclair-1
Assists: Bergevin-2, Akiyama-1, Sinclair-2, Virshup-1
Turn-Overs: Virshup-2, Weiser-2, Munet-1, Franscioni-1, Heffner-1, Akiyama-1, Sinclair-1, Bass-1
Field Blocks: Akiyama-1
Exclusions/Drawn:Munet-0/1, Rodrgiuez-1/4, Heffner-1/3, Akiyama-1/0, Virshup-1/0
Saves/Goals Allowed: Florsheim-15/13
Quotes:
Head Coach Larry Zubrin on the team's slow start, falling behind 5-1, 5 minutes into the first quarter:
"Maybe we were stiff from the long ride up and the day off the night before, but we definitely need to come into games with more energy if we expect to win. Once we woke up we played some of our best polo this season."
Game #2 Occidental-1 Div I #2 Stanford-25
Pre-Game Notes:
-Stanford Head Coach John Vargas is the former high school coach of Oxy head coach Larry Zubrin.
-After spending the first three weeks of the season ranked #1 nationally Stanford dropped to #2 in the polls after losing to UCLA last week.
-The two teams last met in 2006 when then #1 ranked Stanford traveled to the friendly confines of Taylor Pool at Occidental. Stanford won that game 16-7.
Highlights:
-The victory marked the 250th for the Cardinal under Coach Vargas.
- Stanford has previously defeated four other SCIAC teams this season; Redlands-26-3, Pomona-Pitzer-22-5, Chapman 26-3, and Whittier-21-5.
-Oxy's lone goal was scored by Freshman Matt Weiser, making him one of just two SCIAC freshmen to score against the Cardinal this season.
Box Score 1st 2nd 3rd 4th TOTAL
Occidental 0 1 0 0 1
Stanford 8 3 9 5 25
Occidental Stats:
Goals/Attempts: Weiser-1/2, Akiyama-0/3, Bergevin-0/1, Franscioni-0/1, Heffner-0/1
Steals: Needleman-2, Munet-1, Heffner-1, Akiyama-1, Bass-1
Assists: Needleman-1
Turn-Overs: Russell-3, Bergevin-3, Akiyama-4, Weiser-2, Heffner-2, Munet-1, Rodrgiuez-1, Rothwell-1, Franscioni-1, Sinclair-1, Virshup-1
Exclusions/Drawn: Needleman-1/0, Franscioni-1/1, Munet-0/1, Russell-0/1, Heffner-0/1, Sinclair-0/1
Saves/Goals Allowed: Needleman-7/25
Quotes:
Weiser on scoring the team's lone goal:
"Losing 25-1 is tough no matter who you play, but I actually feel really good about that one goal. Not too many Division III athletes can say they did something like that, let alone even played against one of the best teams in the country."
Game #3 Occidental-0 Div I #3 Cal-Berkely-17
Pre-Game Notes:
-This is the first meeting between the two teams in Coach Zubrin's tenure at Oxy.
-The Bears roster features four names (including head coach Kirk Everist) with US National Team experience, and seven additional players with international water polo experience.
-The Bears have previously defeated three other SCIAC schools this season; La Verne 25-3, Whittier-24-3, and Chapman 15-8.
Highlights:
-Although the Tigers failed to score, the team did manage 24 shots on goal.
-The game marked the first time in the modern history of the Occidental program that the team played each of the nation's top four teams in the same season.
Box Score 1st 2nd 3rd 4th TOTAL
Occidental 0 0 0 0 0
Cal 5 4 5 3 17
Occidental Stats:
Goals/Attempts: Rodrgiuez-0/4, Akiyama-0/6, Weiser-0/4, Bergevin-0/4, Heffner-0/3, Virshup-0/1, Russell-0/1, Munet-0/1
Steals: Munet-2, Akiyama-2, Floresheim-1, Rodrgiuez-1, Weiser-1, Franscioni-1, Heffner-1
Turn-Overs: Munet-2, Rodrgiuez-2, Weiser-1, Heffner-1, Sinclair-1
Field Blocks: Akiyama-1
Exclusions/Drawn: Bergevin-3/0, Rodrgiuez-1/0, Weiser-1/0, Rothwell-1/0, Heffner-1/1, Bass-1/0
Akiyama-0/1
Saves/Goals Allowed: Floresheim-10/13
Game #4 Occidental-4 Div I #14 Navy 22
Pre-Game Notes:
-This is the first time Oxy has played Navy in Coach Zubrin's tenure as head coach.
-This is the first and only time the Midshipmen will play a SCIAC team in 2014. Navy played Cal Lutheran last season winning 13-7.
Highlights:
-Junior Hank Franscioni, who led the Tigers with two goals, put up his second multi-goal effort of the 2014 season.
-Sophomore goalie Adam Florsheim's five steals were the most in game by a Tiger this season.
Box Score 1st 2nd 3rd 4th TOTAL
Occidental 0 2 1 1 4
Navy 7 5 5 5 22
Occidental Stats:
Goals/Attempts: Franscioni-2/4, Heffner-1/3, Bergevin-1/1, Munet-0/2, Russell-0/1, Weiser-0/1, Akiyama-0/2, Vurshup-0/1, Bass-0/1
Steals: Florsheim-5, Bergevin-2, ?Munet-1, Rothwell-1, Akiyama-1
Assists: Munet-1, Rodriguez-1, Wesier-1, Akiyama-1
Turn-Overs: Munet-3, Weiser-3, Russell-1, Rodriguez-1, Rothwell-1, Bergevin-1, Franscioni-1, Heffner-1, Sinclair-1, Virshup-1
Field Blocks: Heffner-1, Akiyama-1, Virshup-1
Exclusions/Drawn: Munet-0/1, Rodrgiuez-1/0, Weiser-2/3, Rothwell-2/1, Bergevin-1/0, Franscioni-2/2, Heffner-1/1, Akiyama-1/3, Virshup-0/1
Saves/Goals Allowed: Florsheim-10/22
