LOS ANGELES, Calif. - The Austin College men's water polo team came up just short against Penn State-Behrend in the opening round game of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Tournament, and national Division I power California was too much for the 'Roos in the team's second game of the day.
In the opener against Behrend, the 'Roos jumped out to a 3-1 lead after the first period, with Alex Rodriguez getting Austin College on the board first. Brett Skinner and Andrew Pope followed with goals of their own to give the 'Roos a two goal cushion. However, PSB dominated the second quarter, scoring three goals and blanking the 'Roos to take a 4-3 lead heading into the third.
Both teams tallied once in the third quarter, with Pope notching his second goal of the game. In the fourth quarter, Duran Kittman scored to square things up, but Behrend scored two in a row to push the lead to 7-5. Rodriguez tallied again to cut it to a one goal margin, but PSB would add a late goal to seal the game. Andrew Pomier finished with six saves for Austin College.
In the second game against Cal, the Bears sprinted to a 7-0 lead before Austin College managed to get on the board with a goal by Robert Griffin, and the first quarter would end with Cal holding an 8-1 lead. The Bears scored seven unanswered in the second quarter to take a 15-1 lead heading to the third, where Andrew Pope and Griffin would score the last two goals of the contest for Austin College. After taking a 21-3 lead into the fourth, Cal scored six times in the fourth to make it a 27-3 final.
Andrew Pomier had seven saves for Austin College, and the 'Roos will now take on Penn State-Behrend again in the 5th place game on Sunday morning at 9:00 a.m. PST.