SAN JOSE, Calif.----- On its best day of the 2021 season, San Jose State University picked up its first Golden Coast Conference win of the year, defeated two top-15 nationally-ranked opponents in one afternoon, and matched a season-long three-match winning streak on the first day of the Julian Fraser Memorial men's water polo tournament.
The No.10-ranked Spartans (11-12, 1-2 GCC) never trailed in their 12-10 victory over #14-UC Irvine (7-9, 0-2 GCC) and posted an 11-7 fourth-quarter comeback triumph over No. 12-ranked Princeton (18-6).
Bende Pardi and Adam Bado combined for seven of the Spartans' scores in the UC Irvine victory. Pardi scored three of his match-high four goals in the third quarter as the Anteaters closed a 7-4 halftime deficit to 7-5 and 8-7 before the freshman from Hungary responded with a score each time. Bado scored his three goals In the second quarter helping San Jose State build its biggest lead of the match, 7-2.
Goalkeeper Yahav Fire doused UC Irvine's hopes for a victory with 16 saves.
Fire was equally important in the Princeton victory coming up with 11 saves including stopping a 5-meter penalty shot.
San Jose State overcame a 4-2 halftime deficit and trailed 5-4 in a defensive struggle heading into the fourth quarter. In their highest-scoring fourth quarter of the season, the Spartans erupted for seven goals led by a single-match career high five by Mark Kis. His first two fourth quarter scores pulled the Spartans even at 5-5 and 6-6 and his last goal extended the team's lead to 9-6 with 37 seconds remaining in the match.
Pardi's power-play goal at 3:18 of the fourth quarter gave San Jose State its first lead in the match at 7-6. Fire was the only other multi-goal Spartan scorer with a pair of long ball shots in the 15 seconds for insurance purposes.
San Jose State wraps up its weekend as co-host with Santa Clara University for the Julian Fraser Memorial Invitational with three matches on Sunday, October 25. The Spartans open with Brown at 8:00 a.m., Biola at 10:40 a.m., and conclude the weekend hosting Fresno Pacific at noon.
San Jose State University men's water polo
Julian Fraser Memorial Invitational
Student Recreation and Aquatics Center, San Jose, Calif.
October 23, 2021
Match #3
| Golden Coast Conference match |
By Quarters |
Total |
| No. 14-UC Irvine (7-9, 0-2 GCC) |
2-3-2-3 |
10 |
| No. 10-San Jose State (10-12, 1-2 GCC) |
4-3-3-2 |
12 |
| Scoring summary |
| UC Irvine – Dylan Patist, Stewart Campbell, Kiyan Mohebbizadeh, 2, each; Grant Chiponis, Nikola Ilic, Zlatan Nikocevic, Thomas, Cass, 1, each. |
| San Jose State – Bende Pardi, 4; Adam Bado, 3; Mark Kis, 2; Laszlo Szieben, Bence Szabo, Tomasso Ramacciotti, 1, each. |
| Goalkeeper saves |
| UC Irvine – Harrison Land (24:00), 12; Jacob Pyle (8:00), 1. |
| San Jose State – Yahav Fire, 16. |
| Ejections |
| UC Irvine – 14. |
| San Jose State – 14. |
Match #5
| Non-conference match |
By Quarters |
Total |
| No. 12-Princeton (18-6) |
1-3-1-2 |
7 |
| No. 10-San Jose State (11-12) |
1-1-2-7 |
11 |
| Scoring summary |
| Princeton – Vladen Mitrovic, 3; Keller Maloney, 2; Ryan Neapole, Roko Pozaric, 1, each. |
| San Jose State – Mark Kis, 5; Laszlo Szieben, Yahav Fire, 2, each; Adam Bado, Bende Pardi, 1, each. |
| Goalkeeper saves |
| Princeton – Antonio Knez (31:23), 5; Vladen Mitrovic (0:37), 0. |
| San Jose State – Yahav Fire, 11. |
| Ejections |
| Princeton - 13. |
| San Jose State – 16. |
