An outstanding senior night win for Davis with a final score of 17-8
By MEGAN JOSEPH — sports@theaggie.org
On Oct. 10, the UC Davis men’s water polo team dominated the pool and added yet another win to their record. The Aggies left the Cal State Fullerton Titans speechless with their incredible 17-8 win, marking the eighth consecutive victory for the Aggies this season. The team put their blood, sweat and tears into this match-up to give the seniors a win on their one and only senior game night.
Throughout the season, the Aggies have shown their phenomenal teamwork and skillful gameplay that became even more apparent in the game against Fullerton. The Aggies had a total of 30 shots against the opposing team’s goal with 17 of those shots going past the goalkeeper.
Although the Fullerton team had a total of 25 shots against the Aggies, only eight of those shots made it into the back of the net. This gave the Aggies the upper hand and momentum over the Fullerton team for the entirety of the game. Both teams put up a strong battle for the win, but the Aggies’ powerful offense led by fourth-year Aleix Aznar Beltran and fifth-year Aaron Voggenthaler proved to be too much for the Fullerton defense.
Beltran and Voggenthaler proved themselves to be trouble for the opposing team’s defense, with both players scoring four goals each for a total of eight goals. Additionally, Beltran’s rhythm only helped the Aggies further their lead, scoring one goal every quarter of the game. Voggenthaler wasn’t as consistent with his goals, but still scored a total of four goals with one being in the first quarter, two goals in the second quarter and one goal in the fourth quarter.
Following Beltran and Voggenthaler’s lead, the rest of the Davis offense kept pressure on the Fullerton defense and continued to score more goals. Fifth-year Logan Anderson scored a total of three goals, with two scored in the first quarter and his last goal scored in the third quarter. Fifth-year Max Stryker and fourth-year Will Nomura each scored two goals, averaging a goal per quarter between the two of them. The last two goals of the game were scored by third-year Andrew Hitchcock in the second quarter and fourth-year Ben Fleming in the fourth quarter.
Not only did Stryker score twice in the Fullerton game, but he also stands as the player with the highest number of assists on the team for this season. Prior to the Fullerton game, Stryker’s total number of assists sat at 39 but has since increased with his four assists in the Fullerton game. With the Big West Water Polo Championship fast approaching, Stryker still has more chances to expand his total number of assists.
Combining all of the team’s efforts led to the outstanding win by the UC Davis Aggies against the Titans, with 10 of those goals coming from members of the team who are graduating this year.
A total of five players on the team are part of this year’s graduating class, making the Fullerton game one of the most celebrated wins of the season. These players, fourth and fifth-years Anderson, Fleming, Stryker, Aaron Wilson and Voggenthaler, will be leaving the team after this year’s season.
Throughout their time on the team, all five players represented what it means to be an Aggie and their inspiration to other players and students alike will be greatly missed. We wish them the best in their future endeavors and look forward to what the team has in store for the fans for the rest of the season and years to come.
Written by: Megan Joseph — sports@theaggie.org
